Laxputs

My accountant is telling me I have to pay taxes on the capital appreciation of some of my hedge funds and mutual funds where I have not sold any shares. The fund has appreciated from what it was valued at last year. I have not sold shares. Do I have to pay taxes on the gains? This seems nonsensical to me as a person would then have to sell some of their shares to pay the taxes if they had no other income. Is it correct that I owe taxes there? TIA

https://insidertracking.com/

https://sumzero.com/headlines/telecom/GLN:CN/280-the-buyside-fireside-exploiting-opportunities-in-canadian-small-caps Small caps. Predictable cash flows. Investment process. Worth a read.

I've googled this, can't find an answer. When using googlesheets, sometimes I hit enter after typing in a cell and it double spaces the cell. Other times I hit enter it does not, and moves me to the cell below. I just want to hit enter and have it move to the box below, no double spacing, every time. It seems unpredictable. What's up with that? Thanks.

Going to a friend's b'day tonight where the Mayweather v Pacquiao boxing will be on. Made a 100$ donation to "Battered Women Support Services" and "Because I am a Girl" to counteract my monetary support of Mayweather who has 7 charges against him for abusing women.

When are MI, NCI, JV, etc., indicative of earnings that the company has to pay to other parties and when are they indicative of earnings the company has coming to them? TIA

Looking at HOS. Pg F-7. When they purchase a ship they depreciate the original purchase price over 25 years and, in theory, sell that asset for 25% of the original purchase price and the end of its useful life. So you are spreading the cost of buying the vessel over 25 years, and accounting for it via depreciating the asset. In 25 years when you need a new vessel you repeat the process. Thus there is no one time hit to earnings on the cost of a new vessel. Questions: 1. Depreciation, therefore, accounts for the money to retain the earnings power of the business, i.e. not just the cost to keep that asset working but the full lifecycle of the asset; maintain it in good working order and assume it gets sold or expires at the end of its useful life? 2. In regards to HOS, what are they amortizing? What intangible asset has capital expenses? They are not repaying a loan quarterly so I don't believe it is debt servicing? TIA

Can anyone suggest a site that has historical EBITDA numbers and EV/EBITDA ratios for companies? GURUFOCUS has it and it's so handy but only for paid subscribers--and not that cheap. I don't see historical EV/EBITDA or EBITDA on GoogleFinance, Yahoo, Morningstar, etc. I find it a time saver when looking at comparables to be able to see a wide range of different companies valuations. TIA

I thought this was interesting. I just assumed the Canadian economy relied on Oil/Gas/Mining for 50%+ contribution. Turns out it is less than 10%. http://www.investorsfriend.com/Canadian%20GDP%20Canadian%20imports%20and%20exports.htm Pretty diversified looking economy.

Lengthy and detailed report on oil price and repercussions. http://pragcap.com/the-2014-oil-price-slump-7-key-questions

The only stock that I would have done things differently given the information at the time is CLUB (and it's not my biggest loss on the year). I didn't appreciate just how significant a small drop in revenue was given high fixed costs. And that their locations really didn't offer any kind of barrier to entry. I believe losing 50% in this company will be the catalyst to me investing a lot better in the future. I changed how I approach researching and valuing companies after that. I'm betting losing a lot in that one will be one of the best financial things that will have happened to me.

-25% loss. Town Sports was permanent capital loss given I sold out of the position (near the 52 week low btw). My portfolio suffered the negative effects of the O&G sell-off where I have 30% allocation. However I believe my holdings are very cheap and safe and the losses are just on paper (Emeco, Enterprise Group, Macro Enterprises). Future Bright sold off due to a gambling crack-down/slow-down in Macau but I think it will trade for multiples above where it is today and am excited to own it and have been adding. I had a strong year last year. At the midpoint of 2014 I started doing things very differently and took 45 days off my normal work to study full-time investing and look more in-depth at certain companies. I think I've come very far from where I was a year ago and the paper losses are indicative of variance rather than lack of aptitude--but we'll see over the next few years. Hopefully in 2015 there aren't any significant Black Swan events and the 9 companies I hold and my 98% invested portfolio can trade closer to a reasonable multiple of earnings. This forum is indispensable for what I'm trying to do. Many thanks to the thoughtful and helpful posts.

I would suggest looking at companies that have earnings from recurring revenue/maintenance contracts, as well as directly from O&G sector. And of course companies with little debt and strong cash flows. There are companies where the baby is being thrown out with the bath water. I'd suggest looking at Enterprise Group, Macro Enterprises, and Emeco.

Here is how the Suncor CEO is thinking about the drop in oil prices. I thought this was very interesting. No plans to curtail cap-ex until oil drops below 40$. They have a 50 year time frame in mind. They positioned their balance sheet in such a manner as to not have to incessantly start and stop new developments based on the flux of oil price movements. Cash production costs of 30$/bbl. http://seekingalpha.com/article/2627865-suncor-energys-su-ceo-steve-williams-on-q3-2014-results-earnings-call-transcript?part=single

Here is how the Suncor CEO is thinking about the drop in oil prices. I thought this was very interesting. No plans to curtail cap-ex until oil drops below 40$. They have a 50 year time frame in mind. They positioned their balance sheet in such a manner as to not have to incessantly start and stop new developments based on the flux of oil price movements. Cash production costs of 30$/bbl. http://seekingalpha.com/article/2627865-suncor-energys-su-ceo-steve-williams-on-q3-2014-results-earnings-call-transcript?part=single