John Hjorth

That's been true for a while. The really important question is how exactly is it going to die. rb, thank you for quoting my post even before my own editing. I just suppose a lot of staff is working overtime right now - and during the weekend. "No sweat" comes to mind as when you arrive at home monday morning, after tripple all-nigtherts, and your spouse is happy to see you, despite your "odor". This is bad - really bad.

This Italian banking nightmare might in worst case end getting out of hand: Banki Monte dei Paschi asks ECB to extend EUR 5 billion resque plan deadline. It was all over the place in the Danish TV news today.

It seems like my mental overdrive mode yesterday has created something like the December version of "Which Presidential Candidate will you..."! DooDiligence, please do not let it get under your skin. The people around here are actually very nice in general. Liberty is right - it's not just "two airplanes". I certainly concur with valcont, cardboard and Jurgis also. I have seen things from inside with regard to public/military spending in the whole 2014 and most of 2015 under an assignment I was on in that period. The Arctic Patrol Ships ordered by the Canadian Navy and beeing built right now in Canada are actually designed here in Odense, Denmark. Let me just say I was baffled about how things were done, without going too much into specifics. -To provide some further modest comfort to my fellow Canadian board members footing the bill on this I will just add that I was paid dearly! [-to work hard, very hard]. rb, with regard to the rally lately, I'm not amused - like you. Actually, I'm getting poorer by it. In tax deferred accounts here in Denmark, you have to pay a 15.3 percent tax based on marked to market valuations on both realised and unrealiseds gains. To give you the opportunity to get even with me about the above I'll mention that the tax is called a PAL-tax [PAL beeing the abbreviation for the Danish words for "Pension Return Law"].There is carry forward on the calculation basis for the tax. So I want the stocks I buy in such account to just "stay there" with regard to price, and to fall with dividends received - and to pop the day before I want to sell. By the way, it is the only Danish tax, for which you don't get a specification from the Danish IRS. Your broker/bank does the calculation, and pulls the tax from the account and delivers it to the Danish IRS in the middle of each January. If the cash is not there, you're "margin called" for the tax.

netnet, Thanks, I will try to open a topic in the investment ideas forum within a few weeks about Investor AB. I'll do my very best to do the opening post - consider me as reference - well thought out.

Trump wants to cancel Air Force One order from Boing. Oh well. Somehow, I like the idea of the guy talking about material corporation tax cuts taking the lead and beeing a frontrunner in reducing [not needed?] US public spending. [j/k] Perhaps he should consider taking the SR-71 out of the moth ball for his personal transportation, and his staff could travel before him using Norwegian, Ryan Air, EasyJet or whatever. .. -At least the SR-71 seems to fit his temper much better than a dull 747. [/j/k]. [Yes, I am a bit bored today - please don't get me started about the Royal Danish family!]

Scott, Yes. My intention with my post referring to the Bloomberg acticle was just to back my first post about deferred taxes - just showing that others look at this the same way as I. My first post was actually meant to be only about what would happen to deferred taxes already built up and provided, which was not clear based on how my first post was phrased. So I have edited my first post.

An article about the effect on the BRK financials of the expected US tax cut: Berkshire Boost From Trump Tax Plan Seen as High as 29 Billion.

The popularity of Mrs. Merkel has got some dents lately, related to the European migration crisis. Edit: No worries, rb.

From an accounting and reporting perspective, provisions for taxes already deferred in the US will be adjusted downwards, the adjustments eventually ending up in book equity. Edit: Added the word "already".

Irish Times: Senior euro zone figures call for calm after Italian vote. Translates for me to : "Crisis? - What crisis? -It's just a "permanent situation - Italian style"". -To solve a problem one must first acknowledge its existence. Oh well.

Not sure, sailor of this board, So far, I haven't read any info implying they are hole brother inlaws. - By the way, I think I really need to go bed now before this is escalading into something I don't know what! I mean: Does it matter? Are Italian banks cheap right now or not? [For me so far: Not!].

Thanks Uccmal, and as already posted by indirect: Good night, and sleep well - what ever your time zone may be.

The voting procedure is running right now in Italy. I'll stay up and look at TV about it till the bitter end at about 03 AM this night, my local time. I still have no clue what this will bring for tomorrows markets [,perhaps some cheap SAN ADRs in the afternoon]. We'll see.

You are welcome, TBW. I really hope you get the book as a Christmas gift from your wife, and that you enjoy reading the book like I have.

Full title: Investor 100 years - "To move from the old to what is about to come is the only tradition worth keeping." I bought the books [both the Swedish version and the English version] in the beginning of October 2016, and I have just finished reading the English version. The book is about the first 100 years of the history the Swedish investment company Investor AB - the central and core company in "the Wallenberg sphere", today actually in control of quite a large part of Swedish international business, and quite a large part of the companies listed on the Swedish stock exchange Nasdaq OMX Stockholm. Ticker: INVE A [sTO] & INVE B [sTO]. The book was written by the Swedish journalist Ronald Fagerfjäll. To me, it's very well written. I have the feeling after reading the book [i have only read the English version so far], that the author is a quite skilled investor himself. It's the story about how about aproximately SEK 500 thousand has been turned into about SEK 290 billion during the work of 6 generations of the Wallenberg family within 100 years, in a historic Swedish business context. I have learned a lot about the Wallenbergs and how they work by reading it, and it has been a really interesting, entertaining and educational read, all at the same time, with everything put in a historic perspective with regard to Swedish business. - - - o 0 o - - - Scandinavian investors outside Denmark can get the books at a 46% discount [price: SEK 179.00 each] here. As a Danish investor, I found the books cheapest including postage and VAT at CDON.COM. The English version of the book is available on Amazon UK at GBP 29.00 here. I haven't been able to find the Swedish version of the book available outside www.adlibris.com and CDON.COM. - - - o 0 o - - - Disclosure: INVE A [sTO] ~3% position. I will perhaps buy more in 2017.

Anybody on this board following the Italian situation - some places called "Quitaly" - right now? -The Referendum vote is on this coming Sunday. Personally, I have no idea about what this will bring short term - in the light of the US Presidential Election about three weeks ago.

Brendan, Just a side note here. The PBMs have been holding their heads low - as far as I have observed - with regard to the political discussions going on pre US Presidential Election about pharma companies making outragious profits on diabetes health care [sanders at that time especially mentioning Novo Nordisk, Elly Lilly and Sanofi], while everybody knows a part of the total equation for patients is the slice of price ex. sales tax taken by the PBMs.

I predict you're wrong. Bieber is Canadian. But whatever. Us Canadians are just glad he moved to the US. He's your problem now. Make with him what you wish. Sure but that won't matter after the U.S. and Canada merger in 2038. A joke I hope... or I will be getting my guns out. Don't worry to much, Uccmal. All merger discussions will most likely eventually strand, drowned in heated and emotional discussions about the flag for the continuing entity.

I did take a quick look at Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA [Publ] yesterday. I have the same perception as KCLarkin based on the quick look. Not much money has been earned within the last 10 years, and a very low equity ratio. This combined with an enormous planned and committed fleet expansion for the next few years. A major rise in fuel prices for a longer period going forward, and this company will end up in deep trouble. It seems to me to be like an all in bet for the future of the company with the risk nowhere near zero of running the company in the ditch. Mr. Kjos does not seem to take into consideration margin of safety in investment decisions. He appears to just want the company to grow - the faster the merrier. He will either die very rich, or the opposite. There will be no in-between outcomes. And most likely he does not give a damn about it, as already mentioned - as an "in general" comment - earlier in this topic.

flesh, It's an accounting decision - related to the consolidation of PCP in the group financials for BRK at the first time - based on the assessed economics inherent in the aquisition, and based on the price paid for the company, compared to the book value of the company at the time of the aquisition. It has nothing to do with taxes in BRK group financials.

LuftHansa : Strike of the Pilots Union Cockpit on 23. November 2016.

I would really like gio to put some shade on this, based on his local/national knowledge, and his professional involvement in the RE/construction business. gio does not seem to around here anymore - within the last few months, unfortunately. I really hope gio comes back to us all.

Is there a second of all? I apologize for couch moderating here, especially to LongHaul. I hope you accept my apology. In the beginning of 2014 I was looking at Hawaiian Airlines, based on a topic on this board. I passed on it, because I could see and understand the inside Hawaii moat, but could not get to some kind of conviction about "the rest" of the activities of the company. A few months back I actually took a closer look at LuftHansa, spending a couple of days on it, and I was tempted, but passed. I haven't looked back at it since then. It is about [more or less overlapping]: 1. The value of the airplane fleet [leased or owned]. I have no idea how to get to some kind of conviction about if the book value is fair or not. The capital I a priori would commit to the investment did not justice the time of mine involved in diving deep into this matter. 2. The lack of calme "inside" some of these carriers [not particulary related to LuftHansa]. Constant battles between unions, certain staff groups and management and board, to get things to work in the daily operations. Shareholders are hostages in these fights [Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA [NAS.OS] and Scandinavian Air Line Systems comes to mind here]. 3. Especially, I have been following what has been going on for years with SAS. It seems like a never ending story of restructurings, based on fights between management/board and certain staff groups. 4. Norwegian Air Shuttle has actually been able to reach a size within a relatively few years that is comparable to the size SAS. I haven't been able to get to some kind of understanding of what's been going on, other than somebody is betting hard. So, I'm still in the dark about the competitive dynamics in this industry. Especially bullet 4 has been touched earlier in this topic. [Norwegian Air Shuttle, Easyjet, RyanAir etc.] - - - o 0 o - - - The whole industry seems to me to be some kind of "Last man standing" revolver game, as i.e. container shipping right now. - - - o 0 o - - - This kind of investment simply does not fit my temper with regard to risk, and prospects of reward [, - however I might get it totally wrong - so what? I certainly have other - for me more interesting - cases on my desk]. - - - o 0 o - - - Edit: My family and mine overall investment in BRK is right now a bit above 20%. When you start merging toes with an "old lady" late in life, you have to take the whole package "as is". Unless you have the capital - and thereby votes - to make a change. There are quite some dents to BRK lately - within the last year or so -, that I do not like to read about. To me, this BRK airline bet is about ~USD 1 B, relative to USD 2-hundred-and-something B.

First of all, I do not see what IBM has to do with this topic.

The "problem" here beeing the Italian banks, where EU don't accept the Italian State to bail out the Italian banks, because it's considered state subsidies by EU, based on common EU competition regulation. [Denmark has also had such certain cases with Danish banks]. Basically, everybody - except the greek citizens and I - want to leave EU. Nothing new under the sky here.