John Hjorth
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Posts posted by John Hjorth
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The posts in this topic by @UK and @Dinar are to me a so frustrating read [, but thank you to you both for them!]. It's simply difficult to think about what to think, because propaganda is an information tool [weapon] used on both sides in the war.
Personally I think the baltic states Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania are all in the same boat as Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany and Poland, because of the strategic importance of the Baltic Sea for everyone, including Russia.
It's a calamity and and a sh*t show, imposing a potential threat on our way of life and our future.
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Please read between the lines of my post. I'm simply just grumpy because I have never downloaded the Semper Augustus letters in a systematic way and saving them, because I did not expect this change in access to them ever to happen.
Personally I've always considered the letters high quality related to Berkshire.
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After looking at it for some time I found the following :
The fact also is that they are still available on the website, please visit:
https://www.semperaugustus.com/clientletter , and
https://www.semperaugustus.com/client-letters .
Perhaps this is a change for the 2022 letter and going forward, the letters earlier released then will go dark?
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1 hour ago, Xerxes said:
...On a different note, if i am not mistaken, the "client letter" portion of Semper site is now locked-up. (on demand only)
Thank you, @Xerxes,
You're right, i.e. same observation for me.
Personally, I have enjoyed tremendously Mr. Bloomstrans Berkshire writing for years now, but since I read his first letter, always have been thinking about the below mentioned.
There was no way with regard Mr. Bloomstrans public appearance and behavior [public letters for clients, twitter appearance , interviews, etc.] during the last years that he would not be approached by one or several of his LPs asking him challenging questions about his time allocation, confronting him with questions about if running a fund with external partners with USD 330 M in assets is considered by Mr. Bloomstran as a part time job.
There is a difference between being an investor, a writer, a money manager, a GP in a fund or a sermonator when you're a Berkaholic. In my opinion, there are lots of people out there who can't relate to their role and assumed responsibilities, related to actual own behavior.
Somehow, it's all about ticket selling or personal branding, most of the cases "I'm good in this I'm doing, so now I'm going to make money on that as a writer [, too, $X pr. month pr. subsciption]", forgetting what I was actually doing in the first place, and getting paid for doing before this "misperception".]
I simply can't remember how many of these "writers" I have seen run out of steam in the last decade.
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We need mentally to be prepared for the worse and at the same time try to aim for maintaining a constructive attitude based on realitistic optimism. ["This too shall pass"]
I think @Spekulatius said it the best on the former Simple Machines software platform for this board in his signature in his posts : "To be a realist, one has to believe in miracles".
[Important footnote kicked in here! : That signature was before @Spekulatius changed it in his posts to "Life is too short for cheap wine".]
Perhaps all this adds up to it would be more meaningful to seriously assult some good wine than to post in this topic.
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@UK,
I respectfully towards you and your right to privacy take the freedom to ask about your nationallity, mother tongue and location. I will naturally respect your refusal to provide this information, if you do so.
My own similar information is as follows: I'm a Dane, my mother tongue is Danish, and I'm located in the city Odense, in the central part of Denmark.
I'm asking because the basis of your posts and their backdrop are important to me for my understanding of your posts.
This whole calamity / sh*tshow is quite close to me from a geographical perspective, as a Danish citizen. I consider Denmark at risk if this event escalates and gets somehow out of control.
Thank you in advance for your time and your posts in this topic.
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7 hours ago, formthirteen said:
Merry Christmas to everyone and their holdings! I hope next year will be a better year than 2020, 2021, and 2022
It probably will, because what more could go wrong, oh, maybe the economy?
Here is a Christmas gift for you.
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Merry Christmas to all fellow CoBF members!
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To all dear fellow CoBF members posting constructive input in this topic,
Thank you!
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4 hours ago, Xerxes said:
... I would even say, Russia today can consider targets within Poland or Baltic Sea that are directly impacting the outcome of war that is critical to its perceived national security. Those targets have a very high "hurdle rate" to it, making it almost impossible to achieve any valuable output for the very tangible risk of triggering Article (whatever the # is).
Let him try, I would say.
Perhaps this thing would come much faster to an end, if he did.
Personally I think you as a Canadian citizen are greatly underestimating the sentiment in Northern Europe about this here.
It's not a "... very high "hurdle rate" ...", here, it's simply considered a suicidal action for his part trying. The crap will simply be beat of him, if he tries.
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It's in no way my intention to be rude here, but yet another lame, unsubstanciated and absolute false assertion and statement laying and flying around in main stream media and on the Net about Mr. Arnault, here about his net worth.
There is no way you can get to the conclusion that Mr. Arnault is the richest person on this planet, based on market values.
Method:
- Grab the last half year report for Financiére Agache [2022H1], look up the ownership stake in percentage in CDI.PA and calculate actual market value, and add to that the value of other net assets of Financiére Agache,
- Assume Agache owns 100% of Financiére Agache [unknown], &
- Assume Mr. Arnault owns 100% of Agache [, which you know he doesen't, if you have examined the topic].
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I have done my very best to understand Mr. Arnault, his modus operandi etc. for years now.
I haven't found any relevant books.
I've been searching for books, articles and such trying to get the whole picture of how Mr. Arnault [and his family] got to where he is today. It's uncomprehendable that he got to where he is today, thinking based on a modest capital base from his fathers original engineering company, back in the 1970's and the formation of LVMH in the 1980's.
From what I have found and read about it he back then was quite a corporate raider taking on enormous risks [using leverage to a wide extent, likely debt to major French banks], getting away with nearly everything he tried to lay his clammy hands on, the exemptions being Guzzi and Hermes. But with these exemptions he basically got away with everything with enormous returns over the years as the outcome, the [only?] alternative being loosing his shirt.
In the early days he shared very competent and vey connected lawyer with Vicent Bolloré and family : Antoine Bernheim.
Mr. Arnault is using both this structure in the total group [minorities capital in a pyramid group structure] and leverage in several of the group levels in the structure. Somehow, it reminds me of the structure of Brookfield.
The visible group structure - bottom-up - as of now is the following:
LVMH - Moët Hennesy Louis Vuitton SE [MC.PA] : LVMH website,
Christian Dior SE [CDI.PA][parent to MC.PA] : Christian Dior Finance website,
Financiére Agache SE [parent to CDI.PA, non-listed, but financial statements available because of issued public listed bonds] : Financiére Agache website .
Financiére Agache is owned and controlled by a legal entity named Agache, which recently changed legal form from an SE to a partnership. This legal entity and its finances are a black box to me.
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1 hour ago, Cod Liver Oil said:
... @dealrakerand Buffett seem to be practitioners of that dark art. ...
Why do you consider it a dark art? It reads entertaining to me. [I may be over-interpreting your choise of words.] Likely, it's about which tax systems we on a indiviual basis are subject to, based on where we are subject to taxation.
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The whole thing going on since February this year is just pure play madness - and very grim, indeed.
You are in Canada, I'm living [basically - on surface - still in calm and peace] - in the distance of about 1,200 km from Kyiv, about 20½ hours by car - in the northern part of Europe.
Mentally it's tangible [if something even can be mental and tangible at the same time].
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It has actually happened in Russia before. 1998 Russian miners' strike .
I think it was @Cigarbutt who posted about it in some relevant and related context some years ago here on CoBF.
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Heartbreaking post by @UK above.
https://news.yahoo.com/man-mothers-wives-russian-soldiers-154601275.html
A dictators worst nightmare and foe: "Are you a man or not?" : The russian mothers!
Russian worker arriving at home after a long working day - hungry and tired :
Wifey at dinner table : "When are you going to do something about it?"
Hungry and tired husband, a bit puzzled : "What?"
Wifey: "My son!"
Hungry and tired husband : "What should I do about it?"
Wifey: "You'd better figure it out. ... Untill you have, this meal is last one I served for you. And say welcome to the couch at night untill you have."
Hunger and crossed legs are roots for revolutions.
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"Off schedule" ["one time?"] donations from Mr. Buffett to foundations. Link .
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1 hour ago, james22 said:
James,
Sorry, I'm a bit confused ... did I miss out anything here?
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Thanks for the elaboration, which makes sense, at least to me personally. What a charlatan, [advanced level], if he has used customer funds to political donations. Time will eventually tell.
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14 minutes ago, Gregmal said:
Yesterday AH AAPL was at 138 and BRK 286. This mornin? 155 and 297. When are folks gonna stop trying to predict the short term future? This shit only really works if you're in marketing and selling products to people. Handling your own money? Not so much.
Today I have received an e-mail from Bloomberg with the topic title : "Welcome to the blah blah blah economy.". -And certainly not meant condesending or pratronizing towards any board members active in this topic.
[I'm sorry, I couldn't resist.]
Yes, it's tough times, but when has investing not been like that? -Always hard, though some times harder than others.
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17 hours ago, LC said:
Assume Apple doesn't hold up - anyone thinking about the effects to Berkshire?
@LC,
Yes, I do. But I think you actually wanted to ask for a response from the board members about another question. [ ; - ) ]
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46 minutes ago, Spekulatius said:
... Says the guy who went all in with his 401K in late September 2008...
Here, I do not try to challenge your statement quoted above. I feel pretty sure you by now have may overcome that [, alone based on reading about your activity here on CoBF].
Thank you for your contributions here on CoBF now over many years.
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On 10/5/2022 at 8:08 AM, Dynamic said:
A new 8-K was released by Berkshire stating in essence that the Board will be seeking a new independent director to replace David Gottesman.
On September 28, 2022, David S. Gottesman, a Berkshire director died. Prior to Mr. Gottesman’s death, the Board of Directors was comprised of eight independent directors and seven non-independent directors. Mr. Gottesman was an independent director and as a result of Mr. Gottesman’s death, the Board of Directors is not currently comprised of a majority of independent directors as required by Section 303A.01 of the NYSE Listed Company Manual.
On September 30, 2022, as required by Section 303A.12 of the NYSE Listed Company Manual, Berkshire Hathaway submitted an interim written affirmation to the NYSE as a notice of noncompliance with Section 303A.01 of the NYSE Listed Company Manual. On October 3, 2022, the Company received an official notice of noncompliance from the NYSE. The NYSE notice stated that the Company will need to correct the noncompliance as promptly as practicable. It is the intention of the Berkshire Hathaway Board of Directors to appoint a new independent director as soon as practicable.
This is lack of due diligence by the board - plain and simple.
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Just another observation point in what's going on, where pretty much everyone is held in the dark with regard to the overall picture of the conflict, its recent status and stage, and expected development going forward.
Is The Bottom Almost Here?
in General Discussion
Posted
@Gregmal,
The above actually stroke me like a cub over my head while reading it. It's actually true. I also now hear the resounding silence of the former preferred/favorite activity by some CoBF members on here: Prem Watsa-bashing [, which has actually stopped] - for a good reason, but after I-don't-know-how-many lean years! -Good! -and about time!