Grenville

Really enjoyed Jim Millstein's ideas for housing reform just now.

Awesome! Thanks.

I'd go as well if it were on a Friday or Saturday. Just checked my calendar and unfortunately it's a no go for me. I'll take notes and post them here. Zillow said there is a webcast as well. Thanks for the heads up on this. Do you know where we can find the link to the webcast?

Is there news that's causing FNMA and FMCC to move so much this morning?

Davita is a good example to see how things work. It's held in a bunch of places including the pension plan. Here is the 13G for Davita http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/927066/000119312513235829/d543063dsc13ga.htm The 13F for June 2013 http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1067983/000095012313006925/xslForm13F_X01/form13fInfoTable.xml

Not sure what dataroma does, but if you look at the 13F it does specify where the shares are held and it does include the pension shares. The annual report does not include the pension shares as they aren't directly part of Berkshire's investment portfolio. From the 2012 AR:

Thanks for all the responses! I appreciate the first hand experiences and insights! Also, when watching the interviews on CNBC with Warren from yesterday, there is one where Buffett refers to the hiring at Benjamin Moore that resulted in the most recent leader change. In that clip he says he "concurred on who was put in." I feel more comfortable with the whole thing. Thanks!

As a shareholder and observer of Berkshire, I enjoy any opportunity to learn more about the individuals at HQ. The article below suggests some not so great things about Tracy Britt. She is on a number of boards within Berkshire, so her ability and reputation are important both now and for the future. Any thoughts, am I worrying too much about the suggestions in the article. Any one else have any additional information about Tracy. http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/warren-buffett-big-blunder-172615856.html

Congrats! Kudos to your wife for sending in the book. Pretty nice gesture by Mr. Buffett!

Could the renters make it harder to sell the property? The renters may not be interested in having you sell the place once they move in and do the upgrades. Could they run interference when you're trying to show the property? Seems like their interest and yours aren't aligned. Can you get something in writing saying that they fully understand that you could potentially move them out in two months? Something that explains the verbal understanding you have versus the legalese in the renter's agreement. Just some thoughts, no experience in this arena.

Park City is the entity associated with John Cumming not Talisker. See here: http://www.parkrecord.com/ci_23966883/talisker-corporation-moves-evict-pcmr-matter-days

Enjoyed this, thanks! I liked the part about building something that suits you, towards the end of the interview.

Just watched and enjoyed it! Thanks.

Thanks! Will be interesting to watch.

Article in TimesofIndia that discloses a 10% stake in IndiaInfoline "What's in BlackBerry buyer Prem Watsa's India kitty?" http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-09-25/hardware/42391505_1_india-infoline-thomas-cook-prem-watsa From their website:

Haven't read it, but thanks for posting. I'd like to learn more about 3G.

I'm sure this helps Fairfax's interest:

My guess is they either redeem the prefs, start paying the pref div or the treasury dividend sweep gets reversed and capital is allowed to build on the balance sheet.

Nice short interview with Henry Paulson on the Fannie Mae bailout "Henry Paulson Defends Fannie Mae Bailout" http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2013/09/06/henry-paulson-defends-fannie-mae-bailout/

Looking forward to the next few years! Awesome and unbelievable stuff

Agreed. Enjoyed the comments from the politicians.

nice interview, thanks for posting!

I'm curious due to my interest in Solar City's business model. Have you factored in insurance cost of something happening while they install the system on your roof or something happening to your roof during the life of the installation? Does Solar City recoup this cost through the installation or through the electricity rate they charge. Also is there a warranty or support cost that you get from their installation that last over the life of the installation? Apologize if I'm asking dumb questions but I'd like to understand the economics. Does Solar City offer multiple ways of financing the solar system? One is the one you're describing where you pay an upfront cost and own the system. The other would be a no upfront cost, but Solar City recoups the cost through the electricity billing from the installed panels. I also started listening to their Q2 CC and they mentioned a couple of things they offer that differentiate themselves from the competition. One was the software that they offer to improve energy efficiency. The other thing would be one customer service point for installation, maintenance, billing and other features tied to the electrical system. Also down the road do you get access to the Tesla battery storage system.

www.pacer.gov --> A very useful site! Thanks again for the info! Some information I found: 1) Fairholme has two complaints in the courts: Fairholme vs USA (US Court of Federal Claims) & Fairholme vs FHFA (District Court of DC, Similar to Perry) 2) There are three cases moving in parallel in the District Court of DC --> Allege violations of Administrative Procedure Act a. Perry vs Lew b. Fairholme v FHFA c. Liao v Lew (consolidation of 4 plaintiffs) 3) There are five cases moving through the US Court of Federal Claims against the US including Fairholme --> These allege an uncompensated taking under the Fifth Amendment I've found the both complaints for Fairholme and Perry Capital online. I have attached the initial complaint of Liao (not the consolidation). I haven't read the complaint from Liao or Fairholme, but I've read the Perry Capital one and it reads well. Let me know if we aren't allowed to post these complaints. I'm no legal expert so I might have my description of things off, I used the motion to stay in the Fairholme v USA case to summarize the two different courts. Liao_v_Lew_Complaint.pdf

Agreed! Great stuff, nice color on Lemann. I liked this quote about Heinz: "He also axed 11 senior executives and replaced them with top performers from inside the company."