John Hjorth

Thanks, @RadMan24, That's not so hard to do something about. Danish style solution is, - and has been for now about two decades, I think, to dig - all powerlines - into the ground, smashing more than one flie in one slap : Not only [reverse?] fire protection, but also storm protection and frost protection [think Texas not so long ago].

@enoch01, Thanks, On the former software platform for CoBF, where we could have a so called signature [a section, that was repeated in the bottom of every post of ours individually, mine was : ""In the race of excellence .... there is no finish line!" HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, current ruler of Dubai, VP, prime minister, and minister of defense of UAE" - - - o 0 o - - - Mr. Buffett talks about "To win, you first have to finish". - - - o 0 o - - - I also remember a few accounts here on CoBF almost hyperactive for a fairly short period, alone for after a period to disappear in silence.

@Sweets last post just inspired me to this tidbit : From Swedish Holmen AB website [Holmen AB is a forestry company and one the largest landowners in Sweden : A free book! [Like in really free! - Not 'Please subscribe to news from us / follow us on X or FB, and we will send you your copy of the book' / 'for our shareholders']: https://www.holmen.com/en/paper/products/book-paper/book/ I ordered the book back in december, nosy as I am, because I'm a shareholder indirectly via L.E. Lundbergföretagen AB, while Holmen AB is also separately listed. - - - o 0 o - - - I've never in life seen a company profile brochure in the form of a 125 pages high quality paperback explaining in depth how the compay is doing business and its business model vith modus operandi. A company, where planning involves decades in short term planning and long term planning is about centuries. At the same time the book is a product sample of one the companys products [paper]. A business where all inventory items are slow moving items! If you're good at planning, you'll never have to scrap anything - in stead you just let it be on its roots to another day when the demand is there, and in the meantime it just stands there and becomes more [grows] without futher outlay / cogs going up! Newest business leg : Slap wind turbines in clearings in low quality forestry land, there are no neighbour complaints in the planning stage, but perhaps the towers may need a little extra height! I really can't imagine this company not being here and not staying for many years, because the worlds population growth and foresty products is an input factor to housing, and likely a good inflation hedge, too. But it's already controlled by a parent, who understands and appreciate its long term properties.

@RadMan24 & @Cigarbutt, How do you gents use and what do you mean by , and what does the term 'wildfire supression' mean in this actual context? [I'm not sure I understand it correctly.]

I voted the "I use zero leverage .." while I like some other fellow CoBF members posting here do not consider it [the use of leverage] in any way stupid. I remember I was thinking a lot about it in the yearly years, while I practically never think about it anymore. I don't think I need it anymore to progress with investing in a satisfactory way going forward. It has likely also something to do with a wish to keep things as simple as possible because I've become older.

Short version of post : Please stay on topic, or leave and go home. - - - o 0 o - - - Long version of post : Contained, as the first lines in the first and topic starting post in this very topic by topic starter @Sweet : The question of "Should Berkshire reduce its large position in Apple?" is alreday well covered, I'm confident, in the Berkshire forum / section here on CoBF. If you invest in a not only Berkshire, but actually any conglomate, and if your capital outlay is not material enough for you to seek influence, in all other situations you're wasting your time thinking about it and discussing it with others, because the terms and conditions of the investment are that you're not buying a ideal part of the privilege and rights to swing a in golf simulator. The above is actually conglomerate investing 101. It applies to discussing capital allocation, concentration and how to deal with laggards in conglomerates. Perhaps, You can make proposals at shareholder meetings / EGMs or AMGs according to the bylaws of the holding company, if you have such rights, and you may vote, if your shares are bearers of voting rights. Beside shorting Apple, the line of thinking is not actionable. Please look up posts about shorting Apple by Greg [ @Gregmal ] here on CoBF. I think the above is also why some conglomerates historically till now have been very successful, some for more than a century. Non-fitting, perhaps illiterate shareholders to the terms and conditions [crowd shareholders] have long ago been weeded out for the most of them so there are no clashes and everybody agree on the terms and conditions. - - - o 0 o - - - If the post is about valuation of Apple, it should naturally go into the AAPL topic in the Investment Ideas forum. - - - o 0 o - - - Unfortunately this topic has evolved into a dystopic mess of off-topic posts belonging somewhere else here on CoBF, all while some posts seem to contain real valuable thinking and considerations worth discussing here on CobF in further details and shades, - exactly just not here, where it's fate is to pass away by away by drowning. In a beauty contest I think this topic isen't even in the same leauge as limp and humpbacked Quasimodo because of the above. - - - o 0 o - - - Please stay on topic according to @Sweets good intentions with this topic in the first place.

This is actually true. It is one of many consequences of various sactions, not thought out well, designed and imposed properly, and according to purpose. Well, now back to China.

I personally think that it would be constructive and fruitful to think about Greg Abel as an industrialist [, like in : Wallenberg style], when the modus operandi to buy for the long term to hold, without constantly flipping something, but to buy to build. It is also to me quite evident that the format of the AGM has to change with regard to who is saying something now that Mr. Munger has passed away. Greg Abel and Ajit Jain will have to evolve their own personal style for performance under these sessions. So it must also have been hard for them to sit at the AGMs in the limelight, but almost overshadowed - untill now - by Statler and Waldorf. That said, I personally think it's fair to say that Mr. Buffett has been inclusive towards them both.

So much for you continuing posting very strenuous posts here on CoBF.

@Gmthebeau, Peace. - But in my personal opinion - going forward here on CoBF, I think we all need to think about to be very specific [and careful] about very negative statements [here, in casu, such as yours, like "blown up multiple times" [you haven't posted even evidience here] and the likes], unless you can provide specific evidence and on a very specific level substanciate your findings, naturally according to what you're posting. If you are expressing your personal opinions in writing here on CoBF, it's not a bad idea also just to write about the causes / basis you are opinionated about that particular matter, and your reason behind your why!

Well @Gmthebeau, Harris Kupperman is what he is, with his 'corner' at the Praetorian Capital website, his Twitter account, with among other things photos from his finca, and all that, 'finca' in Spanish simpy translates to English by 'property'. Source[s] for the above?

@Xerxes, I hope you like it and that you are satisfied with the quality, when it arrives, for your personal skeptical inspection and scrutiny. I think I was if I remember correctly for both my orders charged USD 30 per copy plus freight back then some years ago [2016 or 2017?]. I was initially personally highly skeptical towards this 'print on demand' concept used at lulu.com, ['never tried it before' + 'old conservative bugger'] but ended up very surprised - in a positive way! - at delivery of the first one copy-order.

Well, @nwoodman, -So he is averaging up, also think about what he has not only said, but actually written about allocating capital to your 5th or 10th best ideas in the 1993 Letter, now using basket approach of 5, and now also implementing leverage [J/K, actually! - It all relative ..., among other things to who you are and what you are working / operating with! - Situational flexibility!]

Much in line with the last post by @gfp above : Bloomberg - Markets [January 17th 2024] : Sumitomo Clarifies Buffett Comments After Trading House Stocks Jump .

Denmark, Sunday : "Connected, commited, for the Kingdom of Denmark!", Russia, Sunday :"Connected, commited, for Putin!". The man does not give a damn about the people of Russia, his people.

Reuters [27 November 2023] : Putin approves big military spending hikes for Russia's budget. So a budget shock, and balance based on expections of continued high oil prices. [Not mentioned, but plan B : To tax the hell out of the businesses owned by the oligarchs ! [because there are no money other places] ... wonderful - just wonderfull!]]

For the purpose of perspective : Worldometers - GDP by country :

Bloomberg BusinessWeek [ now obviously trying to compete with The Economist and KAL] :

Thanks @gfp, So this ended up exactly according to your expressed and expected playbook, ref. one of your earlier posts here on CoBF about it. All good.

Ordered this book today, based on that it is mentioned in Howard Marks latest memo : Easy Money in a positive way.

Thank you, @Luca, It was actually not so much - here, in this context - about Investor AB as such, but more about the overall mindset at Investor for how to choose [pick], invest in and run businesses. As shown by me above, the particular mindset was first crystalized in writing in 1946 at Investor AB, and still saturates everything there. Another way to phrase it conceptually is the following : "Stagnation is not stagnation - stagnation is regression" "'Good' is the worst enemy of the great company" Long term it is more about quality and growth than price [paid], @Spekulatius wrote in a post upstream. I don't think anyone here on CoBF would disagree with that. It is about a business simply breaking the 'usual business life cycle' to stay alive and also prosper and staying relevant going forward, no matter its age, instead of it to die. On the rim, it's about staying relevant due to innovation and development by investments in the future. Such businesses actually aren't few, nor seldom. They're just about everywhere. The World is actually stuffed with them. We just need to find them and pick them, carefully, to our best [not easy!] avoiding loosers and laggards. Mr. Buffett in his 50 years anniversary Berkshire letter from 2014 calls such a good company 'sprawling', and calls Berkshire sprawling, too, in that letter. Personally, It think we have quite some fairly young CoBF members by now who have the potential to take this really far for themselves, if they early on get it right and don't become subscription paying members of the foolish crowd by avoiding and stearing clear of serious and material mistakes early on, ref. the basics of compounding.

Thank you, @Spekulatius, This is to me personally just such an awesome post of yours, - as already mentioned, in my personal opinion. It basically isen't about names & tickers, but more about principles, basic criterias and considerations from which to specifically allocate capital to names, companies & groups, based on their respective modus operandis. And we should discuss exactly that in this topic in stead of, picking names or tickers with no reason or overall rationale mentioned to supporting it. For Investor AB [, Sweden] : English : Swedish : The Wallenberg family isen't wealthy as such in private, because pretty much all fortunes built over time has gradually been given to foundations, while the mantra for the family is - it's obsessed with it : "To move from the old to what is about to come is the only tradition worth keeping."

Tilman [ @ebdem ], Just shoot Sanjeev [ @Parsad ] a PM or an e-mail. - He can make almost everything happen

@Cevian, #metoo. I have moved all that trash / breadcrumbs for a few family members to a taxable account of mine personally, containing such stuff, to avoid *noise* intrafamily. Luckily all minors, not much above trackers. What still strikes me is, that these losses are caused by sanctions imposed by the West, not Putin & Co. in his ongoing doings related to warfare. *sigh*. No PTSD over the loss, though. Just move on, and something learned.

@Luca, Are you able to add it?