CorpRaider

I'm hoping to open a position in Markel as well. I was hoping some chop in earnings with the Alterra integration would provide an opportunity, but I suppose a potential panic about Chinese credit might work just as well!

How can one not love this guy?

I would point out that the expense ratio on the FNSAX (the select version) is lower than the FVVAX one with 500-1000 securities (presumably due to lower transaction costs). Also, the MOAT expenses were higher than the .50% but were rebated back due to a cap that expires in 2014.

"You can't predict. You can plan." - Howard Marks Or more likely we just like to worry, it makes us feel good.

TCBY? Oh, flashback. Sorry.

Farm land and sheep, lots of sheep...

Is it just me or is the entire middle east on the verge of sectarian regional war?

My only comment, which is probably painfully obvious to all, is that the size of the bond purchases by the Federal Reserve are pretty miniscule in comparison to the size of that market.

Re Oxy: Yeah not as long-time as I would like, my CB is just below $80. I'm probably going to hit it pretty hard if it drifts down in that area again on lack of news flow this summer. I'm sure you've seen the valuations out there including the BofA one pegging break-up value @ ~$160 per share. they are really singing for those fees. hah! I pulled the trigger on it once it looked like Irani would lose the power struggle because 1) Chazen is older and slated to exit after 2014 no matter what; 2) he has a deal maker background. I need to look at Hess and would happly benefit from any insights you care to share via PM. I briefly looked at it, maybe a year ago, but I didn't think the activists would be able to do anything because of the family ownership. I can see how it would be preferable to OXY because of the retail and midstream assets of which OXY has very little to none and it seems like they've got the obvious template in the Marathon transaction.

DEMBF (Sold almost half today) HSH SD OXY SHLD ARCC GPT FNSAX Other ~ 30% cash and growing I think I'm going to add some MKL and/or L during the next big sell-off.

nm

Lots of paper. I'm buying some Plum Creek! haha.

How much longer until they can implant or stimulate growth of real teeth? HBIO grew and implanted several new trachea for pete's sakes.

The Lifetime Member award is worth much more to young people. I see a whole new generation of Cialis type commercials with young board members discussing Buffett in side by side bathtubs while looking at the sunset. On second thought, that's a fairly disturbing image. Hah!

neat! Thanks for sharing. I love this site and feel so fortunate to have found it!

Fascinating interview. I subscribe to this podcast. Congratulations and thanks for posting!

They're talking about this on CNBC now. Berkowitz was talking to David Faber about restructuring them.

Yeah, they also added the gamechangers one to the nflx library for people who are interested. I started watching the one about Henry Kravis last night. Had no idea he was from an oil family and was born in Tulsa, Ok (I think). I always had some vague notion that he was brittish, probably based on the actor who played him in barbarians at the gate. hah!

I caught the bloomberg risk takers program on Burry, it was pretty entertaining check it out. If you have netflix, they apparently added a bunch of bloomberg programs to the streaming catalog recently.

Sounds interesting. I will check it out as well. Thanks!

I'm reading this book currently. It is great! I laughed out loud last night when reading his description of the usual strategy resulting from wallstreet advice to buy them high and sell them when the margin clerk says so.

Yeah the interview was horrible. She could have done it with zero prep. Save those questions for one of the macro guys.

Bought it after it cratered when the CEO was found to be posting on yahoo message boards pumping the stock, think it was in the 30's. Wish I had held it through the financial crisis but I didn't.

I'll throw out some names for fun. CHY, CHI: (Calamos Convertible closed end funds). PCL, RYN: Timber is fantastically beloved in the tax code, but expensive right now imop. ARCC, OAK: (leveraged finance guys who did well through the recent financial armageddon), GAB, RVT: Leveraged closed end funds that pay you back some capital and income each year. GAB aims to pay back 10% of NAV. I think the theory is a 1.2 times leveraged value portfolio should beat 10% over the long term but gives the holders some liquidity. Gabelli and Royce are both getting older though. I would be interested to hear thoughts comparing the next cash flow yield that could be expected from mom and pop rentals versus primo reits in a normal environment. Seems like owning rental houses might give you a lot more upside because of the cheap mortgage leverage, but a lot more headaches too.

I want to buy some AAPL. I'm waiting for my buy signal: a week going by with no posts in the AAPL thread. ;D