Shawn

This is ignorant, Buffett is referring to a country with opportunity for him to build his wealth. If he were born in Bangladesh in 1930 he would not have had the same opportunities to go to the schools he went to and be exposed to the things he saw that influenced him to become an investor. Has nothing to do with IQ and IQ has nothing to do with success. Rose Blumkin couldn't read or write and build one of the best furniture businesses in North America, Temple Grandin was autistic and became an American icon, as Sanjeev pointed out there's a dozen examples of people we could refer to.

I would question the IQ of anyone who would use this as investment criteria. Also the comment suggests someone doesn't know a lot about IQ testing. +1 +2

Hillary Clinton

13.8% so far, still early and a lot can change. I'm trying to find new things to buy.

E-L Financial

If I found a company I could acquire whole and run myself (or with mgmt I like) I'd have no problem doing that. I always believed that size of allocation was a very important factor in investing that's severely underrated. I can't name 1 particular company but I wouldn't have a problem if someone came to me and with some of the Dow components at discounts and told me I'd have to keep all my money in one of them forever. I wouldn't be mad having my entire networth in either Walmart, ExxonMobil, Apple, Coke, Proctor and Gamble, or American Express. I can understand why a trader wouldn't do that but as a businessman I'd have no qualms doing it if it was a business I could acquire and run and had some knowledge of it's industry or was passionate enough to learn.

Happy belated Birthday Sanjeev !! Thank you for both the hard work and efforts of you and Alnesh for creating this site to allow all of us to communicate. Going to the COBF dinners over the years have been the highlights of most of my years. Being able to learn from everyone (Packer is easily my favourite poster lolol), meet people I look up to in the value investing community, get great ideas and learn as much as I have is something I am eternally grateful and lucky to have obtained posting and lurking the boards. Thanks a million times over to the both of you. I wish you a happy birthday, may you obtain more success, happyness, luck and prosperity in everything you do.

Large caps like Walmart and ExxonMobil are getting cheaper, prompting a closer look and possibly an investment. Is it me or are P/E ratios starting to lower ?

For the returns and success Fairfax and Prem has generated (and that is no disrespect to the other executives because I understand it was a TEAM effort) I feel that Prem should have control over his baby. I think that Fairfax will outgrow Prem and exist long after he's gone and with this control his family can still assert the values of Fairfax in potential successors. If it was my own company I would do the same. I think if you look at any of the wealthiest or greatest capitalists you can almost always find that most of them own or have significant control over the enterprises they create or run.

The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success by William N. Thorndike Amazing book, absolutely amazing...

Floyd is going to floor Manny, those 2 were never on the same level. When you look at the news even, seems no one has faith in Manny the underlying question seems to be "how do we beat Mayweather" ? If it goes to points though, it's possible the judges might screw Floyd and give it to Manny just for the rematch because they know how much money is/would be on the table for a sequel. I think that Floyd Mayweather will make Manny Pacquaio look like meatloaf out there.

Apple - some are still sceptical but I'm a firm believer that it will probably become the next GE in technology and software Fairfax Financial - their best years are yet to come, the general market is underestimating the performance of it's subsidiaries over the long term The U.S. & Canadian Banks - goes without saying *shrugs* Wal-Mart Exxon Mobil Berkshire Hathaway - say what you want but at this point any theory I think is speculation, once again I don't think we should discredit the effectiveness of that whole ship and the subsidiaries 20-30 years out. I think Buffett's successor(s) will make it work. Algoma Central - ahh yes the odd one on the list (btw I don't have a position in it), high ROE, good profits and good mgmt, has all the workings of a company I wouldn't even mind owning down the road. I think it will make it's owners rich over the next generation. Goldman Sachs There's others but I think the above are likely to make their owners work.

I think Sam Mitchell said it best - in the longrun reality catches up - or something to that effect LOLOL. I think if you can discipline yourself to hoard cash and then allocate it when there's "blood in the streets" and do that periodically over time that's ideally a great approach to take. Simple yet most have issues sitting still. I don't think one would be wrong to even hold large cash balances at this point in time. That's how I'm starting to look at things today, I haven't found too many companies worth buying outside of BAC, AIG, BP and maybe a few other names but even then, there aren't many "cheap" companies. Plenty of moderately priced businesses tho. I think for now I'm going to hoard cash until a "no-brainer" appears and is worthwhile. I don't need markets to come down X amount of percent - I just need 1 maybe 2 companies that would meet my criteria otherwise, to get hit with some sort of calamity that causes the market to act irrationally and sell it to me for a price I'd like ;D I'd like to think that at least 1 of those occurs once a year or two.

True but I can't seem to find anything else that's selling for cheap. I remember another board member telling me at Sanjeev's meeting that Mohnish said something similar in regards to the overhead of being public killing them. But you never know what you can find. I don't want to leave any section or stone for that matter unturned. It is a risk I am willing to accept if I even find anything there that's worthwhile. I haven't been to oddball in a while but I'll be sure to check them out.

Does anyone have a list of good blogs, screeners or sites where we can find small, micro, and even nano cap companies ? I'm interested in looking in that area for potential value. The only ones I know of are the TSX venture exchange and the NASDAQ screeners. And my apologies if this has already been made/asked before :(

I think with the right woman in your corner you can definitely be inspired to do extraordinary things beyond what you believed. Part of living a great and happy life is also having a good woman in your corner - your biggest fan. I don't think any man is mean't to stand alone. There's obviously the difficult task of finding the right one but when you do love can be a beautiful thing and yes take you from thousandaire to millionaire and above.

That's clever, it'd also be a great way to increase awareness & even educate others.

Welcome to the board friend !!

Mostly the U.S. Bank TARP warrants. In particular Bank of America Class A and the Wells Fargo ones. I'd like to build a position in Rainmaker Entertainment though. I'm still in the phase of researching the company.

That was a good read, very fascinating. I think he's right and I think he's on to something. Should it come to life, it may present some great buying opportunities. I swear Prem said the same thing at last year's shareholder meeting with regards to global markets and there not being enough productivity to supplement growth.

I don't know about Russia, but what you said about the small caps & them being too small for Putin was very clever. The small cap Russian ETF you mentioned will probably work out well for you. I wouldn't do it though. If you don't need it then you don't have to do it. There's more economically stable countries, though there may not be as many bargains the bargains are there if you look hard enough. Only Russian companies I can think of that are worth investing in are Lukoil, and perhaps Yukos, maybe even Gazprom too but I don't know enough about that one. For me Russia is outside my circle of competence. Keep us updated on how it works out though.

To better answer your questions - are you in Canada or in the United States ?

To add on: - I strongly suggest you visit Snakes & Lattes ! It's so much fun, it's basically a board game shop that's fused with a cafe, you can play board games, drink and eat delicious deli and it's got a really social and lively vibe to it. It's a lot of fun and a good place to visit. It's situated in Korea Town by Christie & Bathurst. I strongly recommend you visit at least once. Every board game you can think of they have it. - the Bell TIFF Box by King & John Street has really cool memorabilia for the whole family and you can also watch independent films and old school classics remastered. - some restaurants you might want to check out that are really good are: Joe Mama's Southern Style Restaurant (if you go at night they have live bands and stuff, it's really like something out of a jazz movie lol), Beer Bistro is cool, Harlem Underground, Ginger (right across the street from the MuchMusic, they make amazing food and the price is right too), Korean Grill is ok, Burger Bar (you can put together your own burger and stuff), Paramount (they make middle eastern cuisine, it's really good), Sarah Schwarma (largely considered to be the best in the city), The WORKS (great burger place, has that 5 guys feel to it but with a Canadian twist - excellent food, a lot of the stuff on their menu is named after famous celebrity visitors) Burrito Boyz, Magic Oven, Amico's Pizza (you haven't had Pizza until you've tried Amico's or The Magic Oven LOL), Mexitaco (best Mexican food in the city) there's so many good restaurants I could go on and on and on.... - if you're into extreme sports CQB Paintball has the best paintball facility in the city (and the best prices too) - Canada's Wonderland - Medieval Nights at The Exhibition Place is too much fun - The Exhibition Place and The Ontario Place (it's a carnival much like Canada's Wonderland gorgeous atmosphere) - Jazz Fest - The Bier Market (it's in the Distillery District, it's got a great atmosphere and great beer, sometimes they have a live band playing there) - Kensington Market, they've got sooo many great stores there, whatever you're looking for they have it, if you visit China Town you have to visit Kensington Market I think that's it for now lol, there's so much to do out here, it's a great city and you'll love it.

Honestly man I wouldn't wish jail on no man. I get he did Fairfax wrong and all that but let karma do it's work. I would never celebrate anybody going to prison or losing everything they worked hard for. It's crazy tho, this idiot ruined his reputation and may very well lose something gravely important to him because of something he really didn't have to do. When karma strikes I swear it's more painful than anything we could possibly conjure. I wonder what Prem's take on all this is.... I'd be interested to hear that.

The wire was an excellent show, my that brings back memories. The one episode were Bodie died still gives me the creeps :( so grim.