ragnarisapirate

Not to mention the flood of money that would come into play in the consumer ecomony.

I was reading the below link, and started to openly wonder over the amount that other managers/investors listen to. Since I only own parts of super small companies, I rarely listen to them...

It's too bad that there aren't any options out there for these guys (at least, I assume that is the case). I would love to see what kind of prices they would be going for.

It looks like Biglari is wanting to take some steps to make sure that the board of Fremont looks at the offer... This is an interesting, and frankly, ballsy strategy... we would expect nothing less from Biglari. http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/93859/000092189510001567/sc13da407428006_10262010.htm "On October 26, 2010, BH delivered a letter to the President and Corporate Secretary of the Issuer nominating Sardar Biglari to be elected to the Board of Directors of the Issuer at the 2011 annual meeting of shareholders of the Issuer, or any other meeting of shareholders held in lieu thereof, and any adjournments, postponements, reschedulings or continuations thereof."

Hey guys, So, I was managing my reader today, changing and adding some search terms and stuff... I then realized that I have well over 230 RSS feeds. I am guessing that 30% are for Google searches, 40% non-investment related blogs, 30% SEC filings. These numbers can also be squed by the amount of posting that a site does... for example, there is no way that I could ever get through everything on zero hedge. Simoleon Sense has a ton of useful stuff, but, is only 1 site. Got me thinking, how many do you guys read? Additionally, at what point do we think that this can lead to information overload? Do you feel susceptible to this? I am guessing that if any group of people is, it would probably be us, as I figure that we spend that vast majority of our time reading (even if it is just SEC filings).

Question: What did the numbers of Berkshire look like when Buffett bought it?

Question: Does any one know what the law in Michigan is regarding the investment of float? If he can invest every bit of the company's cash immediately, or conversely, not invest it any differently than now, it would totally change what the company is worth (a pretty obvious observation). It also depends on what you think he can grow the newly acquired cash at. I suppose that what I am getting at, is that the intrinsic value of the company changes, based on who is running it, and what they plan to do with the float... Which leads me back to my original question. How much of the $11.8 million in cash, and $69.1 million in short term investments can he safely/legally deploy, and in to what type of investments? Furthermore, do the earnings and cash flows of the parent company effect the ratings and such of Fremont?

Bronco, If you haven't already seen this, it is a great recap BH's involvement with Freemont. http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/93859/000092189510001496/ex991to13da307428006_101110.htm This letter is great stuff!

I am betting the answer is yes. There is a ton of float that Sardar is getting access to here. I am curious how much he is going to be able to throw off into equities. While I sold off all but a single share of my BH, this is still exciting stuff!

Well said. I think that it is interesting how we have used gold "as a store of value" for millennium, but that there is still sooooooo much debate as to what it is worth/if it is worth anything/how to value it.

Age should be included in this... can we add another poll? I am willing to bet that the average age is in the early to mid 30s.

speaking of said things, does anyone have any good special situations? :)

Sardar has said that the Steak 'n Shake brand is not for sale.

As I have said in the past, I think that this is a great way to compensate executives. Previously, I just disagreed with the 4%. I would be happier with 8% and no cap, though. To me, the idea of capping what Biglari can make is completely absurd; If he triples book value by some great investment decisions in a single year, I don't see how this is only worth $10 million. Regardless, I don't see why having extra board members is really necessary. Adding, rather than replacing board members would increase the amount of money that the company pays out. Furthermore, it seems that investors going crazy about the compensation package did the job that was necessary, and got the necessary changes made- looking back, we probably should have all bought shares in light of the freak out that market had in regards to the company. Other than some additional filing fees and extra time that the company spent explaining the compensation package, I don't see how this significantly hurt the company. I really doubt that employees cared about it much more than they did before, when he was making $900K. As a side note, the last thing that I would want, is to have another couple of guys who know how to allocate capital, questioning the allocation decisions of the guy running the company; which I am sure would eventually happen with other hedge fund guys on the board of directors. In regards to the reputation, I am guessing that will be repaired in the coming years, at least to people that don't read up on companies... Personally, I just view this as the company losing it's way momentarily. While I personally only own 1 share now (so that I can get stuff in the mail, annual coupons, and the chance to attend a good meeting :]) I am a lot more apt to buy shares in the company again. Remember, the guy never claimed to be Buffett. ;P

Great thread guys. 2 things: 1) are there any good value leaning books on options? 2) Is anyone else buying SHLD calls?

I was in a high school investment club for about 2 years. It was started by some parents and had about 15-20 members, which were basically kids that took all of the AP classes (to this day, I don't know how I got lumped in with them!). Bottom line, I was probably the dumbest kid there. ;) We met 1 time a month, and contributed $50 to the club. 2 people would group up and present 1 or 2 stocks. Previous presenters would monitor old presentations. The club would take a simple majority vote as to what action(s) to take. We had elected officers, if I recall correctly. We were supposed to read a Motley Fool book on investing, but, I don't think any of us ever did (or, could comprehend it), we did have speakers occasionally come in; which were for the most part, our parents. Here are my observations as to what happened in the club: 1) School style politics were abound... kids would berate each other over not doing the right thing with a stock. Plus, others would make votes based on what their close friends wanted them to do. 2) We started at one of the worst points in history... about 6 months before the tech crash. That may of been one of the reasons that the club got started, actually. I wouldn't be shocked if one of the parents said "I just made a bundle on CMGI, so, I must be smart! I can pass this on to my kids and their friends, then they can pay for their college, and I will look really awesome!" 3) I remember suggesting, with one of my friends, to buy Nokia and TelMex, simply because I read in a friends old value line that they had low projected PEGs... We were never concerned with anything other than earnings, or if the company made something that we all used. 4) Point 1 perfectly demonstrates the crowd mentality that happens in markets. To further this point, I remember one of my friends saying "we need to sell this stock while it is still worth something!" Even though I hadn't read anything on value yet, that was a point that made little sense to me. My experience in the club was invaluable. It taught me that simply being smart, wasn't enough to make money in equities. It also taught me that smart people can do really dumb things, among a ton of other valuable 'value' lessons. Looking back, all the kids there were/are a lot smarter than me; in the club, I may be one of 3 or 4 that won't have some capitalized letters after my name. Despite this, I don't know if any of us would have understood balance sheets and such, at that point in our lives- none of us were an Alex Bossert! :) In regards to the school business, we had one in my high school. And students would earn a grade for participation. Other than that, it was run just like a business.

To reference Buffett, value is the sort of thing that takes like an inoculation. People either get it, or they don't. If a person doesn't get it, then how can they get what to look for in a value fund? I remember when I thought that value was mainly a low p/b ratio... Looking at some of the value funds out there, I believe that there are a lot of seasoned investors that think that too. If they are good at presentations, then the little old grandma who is looking for a place to put her money doesn't have a chance! I think that people should probably be invested in an index fund if they know little about investing. Heck, they should probably be invested in that type of fund even if they know just enough to make them dangerous!

You should outsource that to Food Technology Services (VIFL)... ;P Obviously I read a ton of stuff on the internet. I try to be responsibly irresponsible. I figure that traveling to a new place every few months, playing in a gigging band, doing the investment/landlord thing, and going to bars with my friends fits that bill pretty well. On more of a naturalist/H.D. Thoreau note, I have also taken a liking to canoeing as of late.

I thought for sure one of your hobbies would be making or drinking beer :D Beer Drinking is a lifestyle not a hobby :) Not nearly drinking as much as when I took this nickname, university has this strange habbit of making you party all the time. BeerBaron Quitter... :P Have you ever been to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver? I went last year and it was crazy awesome.

Interesting. Is anyone else troubled by the lack of growth (or position) on the chart of the US?

I suppose, the real question is this (for all the people who don't have their own fund): at what ratio of portfolio to salary do you stop punching a time card for someone else?

So, you're buying them for income, and as a bet that the yuan will appreciate vs. the dollar?

http://mises.org/books/defending.pdf or if you feel like paying for it: http://www.amazon.com/Defending-Undefendable-prostitute-moneylender-scapegoats/dp/0930073053 It is a book called "defending the undefendable." basically, it defends the economic and moral worth of the most sketchy characters you can imagine... Libelers, Prostitutes, Corrupt Cops, Drug Dealers, Slumlords, and even Middlemen... But seriously, it is a really good book that is pertinent if you really want to think about 'investing ethically'... As a side note, I don't invest in PXRI, not because of the ethics, but, because I don't know how to value dishware from the bottom of the ocean. I am actually happier to eat our of take out containers than, say, Waterford china. Since that is the case, I don't think that I should own some of the stuff that was sunk on a poorly constructed ship, which can't have another movie made about it for at least a decade. ;)

http://money.cnn.com/2010/08/17/news/companies/american_apparel/index.htm?source=yahoo_quote In light of the above article, I am curious if any of you guys see value, or lack thereof in this company. Part of me doesn't get why they would continually open stores if they were in such dire waters. One thing that I am really curious about is how much is the inventory worth in a liquidation. Furthermore, I am curious as to how much their PP&E is worth, given that someone could buy it, hire cheap labor (as they seem to want to pay people a decent wage) and start a shirt company. There has to be something in worth for the brand too (mainly, due to their ad campaigns), though, that may be offset by Dov's pant's that can't be kept on when he is taking photos for said advertising. ;P

As I recall, he lost only by a handful of votes. As you point out was probably due to being buddies with Biglari and Co/not laying out an appropriate enough plan (anyone remember the CNBC interview?) Doing a Biglari style takeover isn't dead, just so long as you don't know Biglari, I suppose. I too, am curious as to any Biglari style takeovers, since, there was a ton of value unlocked with SNS. I know that CBMX and UWN have some value guys on board, but, I wouldn't call them anything close to 'Biglari-esque takeovers'.