james22

Amended PSPA is as edgy as a second glass of Pinot Grigio on a school night. No end in sight for conservatorship. retain more capital – no release from conservatorship for a very long time (settle the lawsuits and meet capital requirements).

Incentives would argue against a perpetual sweep: If this administration kicks to SCOTUS, they must be very confident the ruling will take care of Paulson.

Starting to like this: put the loss on those who took Fannie/Freddie in the first place. I can wait.

Really? Anyone? You project, cameron. Why would someone who previously believed the media was biased, for example, now believe the media claim he incited a coup? (Especially when they can read the transcript themselves?) Look, I don't know what Mnunchin will do. He might distance himself from Trump as you suggest. But people tend to double-down when they feel wronged. I just think that's more likely.

Imagine Mnuchin believes Trump the victim of a stolen election, tech censorship, a biased press, etc. You think if he knows people like you already believe Trump incited a coup he's worried about the press writing "eviscerating" stories about Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac? LOL I think it's more likely he can now disregard political considerations. If he does side with Trump, he'll no longer give a fuck about any potential blowback.

The 2019-2020 two-year performance gap between Buffet and the S&P 500 index was among the widest by which he has ever trailed, at 37%. ... In 1999, the performance gap between Berkshire and the S&P 500 reached close to 40%, but in hindsight, that was a buy signal. After 1999, Berkshire had one of its best stretches in recent history against the S&P 500, gaining approximately 30% during a period of years when the index was down by close to 40%. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/08/how-warren-buffetts-uphill-battle-against-the-sp-500-is-changing.html

Even if the Greed thesis true, Mnuchin has no reason to do the Democrats any favors. OTOH, if Mnuchin believes the Court case strong, maybe he likes letting them rule against (and embarrass) the Democrats?

LOL

*salutes*

From the Twitter thread: I wish someone would hold me the way I hold my prefs. Ha. HODLing!

Andrew Tobias: The key to happiness is living well beneath your means and enjoying infrequent highly-targeted splurges.

Yep.

~10% All returns this year should be considered within context. I spent a week in the hospital (Corona) and another two quarantined away from my computer in early April - made it impossible to invest my dry powder then. That's my excuse, anyway. Sorry for your loss, John. And congrats, writser.

Nice article, thanks. Creating optionality and buying lottery tickets are not way stations on the road to pursuing your dreamy outcomes. They are dangerous diversions that will change you. Po Bronson in What Should I Do With My Life talks about being changed: https://books.google.com/books?id=eb6HEs6Gm1MC&pg=PT220&lpg=PT220&dq=%22Why+not+get+rich,+then+do+your+dream?+When+I+started+this+book,+I+assumed+I%27d+find+numerous+examples+of+that+path.%22&source=bl&ots=RTr1CJnCOI&sig=ACfU3U0JUieCJhLhlBeJJRjagb24K9KKcw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi_97iO_-ztAhUHi6wKHYKuDIwQ6AEwAXoECAEQAg#v=onepage&q=%22Why%20not%20get%20rich%2C%20then%20do%20your%20dream%3F%20When%20I%20started%20this%20book%2C%20I%20assumed%20I'd%20find%20numerous%20examples%20of%20that%20path.%22&f=false

I do still like to imagine Berkshire will play some role here. Buffett is probably the only one who could be portrayed as saving the mortgage system rather than benefiting himself.

60% Jockeys (in Buffett/Munger, Flatt/Marks, and Gayner I trust) 20% Indices (in Fama/French and Modern Portfolio Theory I trust) 10% Speculation (in the Rule of Law I trust) 10% Dry Powder (in volatility/opportunity I trust)

Just made MKL a 5% position.

Whoops. Thought this was a Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac thread.

BRK and BAM. Had decided over the weekend to buy on Monday, but was scared off by the jump. Still think they undervalued though, so went ahead today.

By taking them? Why would the Dems reverse themselves and set the twins free?

Delusional.

That's my thinking (BAM too). Added today.

Shifted some of my Emerging Markets fund (VEMAX) to US Small Value (VSIAX).

As an expat working from home (in-Kingdom) during this, I wonder if my employer might come to believe I can work as well from home in my home country and save themselves the expat (in-Kingdom hardship) premium they pay.

In order to understand the future of commercial real estate we must draw a distinction between companies’ shrinking demand for office space per employee and the market’s demand for office space. Companies take advantage of technological improvements to cut costs and reduce the amount of office space each worker occupies. As they cut costs, they become more productive; that is, the amount of value each worker adds to the enterprise goes up. More productive firms can increase profits while expanding their market share by lowering the price they charge customers. These lower overall prices expand the market and existing businesses add employees. Because there are profits to be had, new businesses start up and office space remains strongly in demand even though the space per worker at individual firms goes down. https://economics21.org/coronavirus-upends-nyc-commercial-real-estate