Grenville

Happy Thanksgiving guys!!! I'm thankful for the internet…not sure if I'd be here doing what I do and reading the board. I'm thankful for my family's and my health. I appreciate the humor and keeping things light from everyone who posts on the msg board. I'm thankful that the craziness of ebola slowed down and seems more under control. I'm happy it's been a relatively calm year from my perspective. Thanks for starting the thread, enjoy reading everyone's posts.

There is a press release on Fairfax's website regarding Fairfax India. Also the prospectus for the new entity is on Sedar. Looks interesting!

+1 +1

I think it's crazy to think Berkowitz could sell his holdings at current prices without moving the share price. He's got a massive position and others would figure out quickly if he tried to move his position in the public market. If he move his positions in a privately negotiated position deal off market (assuming it doesn't have to be publicly reported in the daily ticker) that would be different.

It's also awesome that you have such great opportunities to speak with such great/thoughtful guys as merkhet. :)

Interesting color, thanks for sharing.

I hope the CDC puts on their game face and starts taking this whole thing more seriously…a bit disappointing.

Enjoyed the Millstein interview! Thanks for posting that. Also thanks for posting the Perry Appeal timeline.

Great interview while Carol was asking questions. Lot more info from Warren than usual in interviews. Thanks for posting!

Very interesting company! Thanks for posting.

Great discussion. Thumbs up to all of you who are reading the opinion and the filings. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I just finished reading the Perry opinion, still need to process it all. I thought the Perry arguments were better when I first read the various complaints. It does seem like the judge involved is just as important as the legal arguments/lawyers in terms of the outcome of a specific case.

my two cents, if they wipe out existing shareholders then why would anyone reinvest in the entities. The same thing could happen again since F&F don't exist without the govt backstop.

valuecfa, Enjoyed this interview! Thanks for posting.

Thanks for posting the video and transcript! I just watched Stumpf's prepared remarks. They are really good, and I highly recommend them. His comments on the state of the economy are great given his exposure to lots of data!

The letters are a great compilation and an excellent read!

u mean Chase right? Yes. Not Wells Fargo.

Appreciate the color. Very cool that you were able to sit in on the conference!

funny! thanks for sharing.

Good read! Thanks for posting as well.

I reread your initial post. I agree with you.

I was a holder of the Oakmark Select fund through this period when he had a huge stake in WaMu. I never felt like he owned up to the mistake in his shareholder letters both during the crisis and as things got better. In my opinion, until you fess up to your specific mistake and put in process to avoid it in the future, there is a risk you'll repeat it. I don't think WaMu and Wells Fargo are equal. I think if you're going to build a 15% position in a company, you should be confident in the quality of the loan book and the culture of underwriting. Wells Fargo would have made it through the crisis without help, WaMu wouldn't have. The quality of the loans were much worse. Wells Fargo made mistakes in underwriting some products but not on the scale that WaMu did. The WaMu deposit franchise and the footprint had tremendous value, but on the other side the loan book cancelled it out. When I look at banks, I have to feel comfortable with the culture. As an investor we have limited information so we must look for clues. The loan book is similar to the derivative book and their culture of managing risk. You can't avoid everything, but you do have to worry about it. My direct understanding of WaMu isn't great, but it's from what I read around the time it went under and was sold to Wells Fargo.

Quick look at the release. Insurance combined ratios were good. Nice to zee Zenith post 90% CR. I thought this bit about the equity hedges was interesting:

Diary? I think you mean dairy :)

Wow. Germany does know how to pass well and build up, but wow.

Happy Birthday!!! Enjoy your day!