ragnarisapirate

In light of Clarus leaving shell company status, I am curious if there are any interesting shell companies that board members are familiar with. I know that Bexil has a conference call tomorrow, at 1105AM which *may* have some interesting developments. http://www.bexil.com/100519-pressrelease.html

Does anyone think that Jones will be profitable from this deal? Personally, I am skeptical.

while uber funny, I hate to be the guy that dispels this... :( http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blcigar.htm or, if you prefer the search that I used, just google: charlotte nc lawyer cigar fire insurance

Since I may be one of the only people on the board that not yelling "off with Sardar's head!" ;) I figured that I would post this: It looks like the new site is completed, and is quite nice! there is also a good shop with tons of merch in it. http://www.steaknshake.com/ http://www.shopsteaknshake.com/

Well, if anyone is dumb enough to tender shares, then more power to them; I, and other shareholders will be richer than I was before. :) Granted, mass tendering prolly won't happen, but it wouldn't take that many shares to justify the filing fees and such. Plus, it generates attention to what the guy is doing at the Holding Company level: trying to buy things for less than they are worth.

that's a spicy meatball.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SPORT/04/09/football.world.cup.tickets/index.html maybe the world cup wont be so great for the newly built hooters?

Valuecfa: after thinking and reading more about the acquisition of NOLs, it does seem like there would be little point for CLRS shareholders. I am still trying to think of a transaction where there might be benefit for both companies... maybe them forming some sort of joint venture where CLRS owns 80% and SNS owns 20%? How would the accounting with that work? Myth: the transaction "terminated without consummation"... so, unless I am mis-reading something (which I am prone to do :]), they are out 1.6 million bucks, and are still looking for a way to deploy cash.

eeek: from the most recent Clarus 10K http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/913277/000114420410013483/v176976_10k.htm TRANSACTION EXPENSE During the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company recognized $1.6 million in transaction expenses arising out of a significant negotiation and due diligence review of a proposed transaction relating to the Company’s redeployment strategy, which involved an acquisition of several major assets and a financing component, that terminated without consummation. The transaction expenses include legal, accounting and other professional fees incurred for due diligence, and preparation and negotiation of documentation. I may be off base here, but does anyone think that it would be an interesting idea for SNS to merge with or buy Clarus?

I think so, in the rights stores, yes- especially among younger people (high schoolers and college kids). With that said, the stuff didn't do well when it was being sold in wal-mart, it just about broke the company. It is kind of a boutique soda that should probably only be sold in coffee shops, organic food stores, gas stations, and tourist stops.

Here is an NPR story on an FDIC takeover from about a year ago. I loved it when I first listened to it. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102384657 I don't remember if the story specifically answers your question- it might, and it might not- but, it is still worth a listen.

Great link. As some may guess, I am generally pretty sympathetic to any the cause of virtually any activist investor, and wish Dash and co. a great deal of luck. I don't know that there is quite the same case for him to get on the BOD as there was with Biglari and SNS; after all, SNS was hemorrhaging cash, whereas, DENN still has a respectable P/E. I will admit, DENN seems cheap, but I am not overly enthusiastic about it; their debt is more than their market cap. =O Which, in this environment, scares the bejesus out of me. I am openly wondering if he is going to try to turn DENN into his own holding company, as, it seems that the restaurant will be able to produce significant and deployable cash flows in the future (provided that their debt load doesn't screw them). Is anyone here long DENN? Any predictions? Thoughts?

My biggest mistake is the fact that I didn't buy nearly enough stocks in march (did any of us? NO!)... Looking back, I wish that I would have sold every possession that I owned, including my home, bought more stocks, moved to the beach, and been a hobo for a few months. I would have been a wealthy homeless man. (and would have bought a nicer house than I have now, at a better price!) ;)

From the guy that brought you card counting, comes this NPR story: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123209339&ft=1&f=13 Note: my posting this is not an endorsement in any direction. :)

Keynes and the Market by Justyn Walsh. It's on my personal list of top 10 books on investing. :) I just ordered it. Thanks for the input!

Has anyone read a book on J M Keynes that addresses his investing that they would be willing to suggest? I have read several articles on him investing, and also seen where Miller and Buffett talked about him investing. thanks in advance.

I hate to go against the investment theme of this board, but this story is one of my favorites. This happened a few years ago, and was a conversation between the owner of the shop I worked at, and one of his buddies, who, was (and still is) a very successful pawn broker. The names have been changed, to protect the parties involved :) . Keep in mind, this happened the Saturday before Christmas... So it was a busy time, with a ton of people coming in and out of the store. My boss is "Jake", while the other pawn broker is "Sam". Sam (quite frantically): "Jake... I am ruined. I am ruined..." Jake: "Why? Whats up?" Sam: "Well, I have a problem. When we opened up this morning, I opened up a Disney Christmas movie from the pile of used VHS tapes in the store- I popped it in the VCR that is hooked up to the wall of TVs that faces the entrance of the store." Jake: "So?" Sam: "You know how you can't see the front of the TV's from the sales floor?" Jake: "Yeah, so what?" Sam: "That video was a fucking home made porno! She taped it over the Disney video" Jake: "No shit!? How long was it on?" Sam (who is now white in the face): "It was on a loop from the time that we opened until we closed. None of the employees left the store and the sound wasn't on... Soooo, yeah... I am ruined. Even worse, the video was made by and stars one of our pawn customers that lives down the street. She sold us the stack of tapes a few days ago... I just put the video in and hit play..." Jake (who is laughing his ass off at this point): "Well, did anyone complain? Was it a good video?" Sam: "No! How can you ask something like that!?" Jake: "Man, don't worry about it, if no one complained, then they must of seen something that they liked!"

This is a great analogy that I have often used... I got a taste for value by working in a pawn shop. One thing that the show doesn't capture well enough, is the diverse groups of people that come in the shop, and all of the odd stories that inevitably come about. I know that there is some weird stuff in the show, but, in my experiences, it doesn't hold a shadow to the real thing. :) I kind of wonder if there will be a bunch of people thinking that they can run a pawn shop and open one up, as a result (however indirectly) of the show. As a value investor, I have often wanted to invest in some public pawn shop- but I can never seem to get past the payday loan segments of the business. While I don't think that regulation of pawn shops will ever get to be too bad, payday lending is another thing entirely, that quite literally, state legislators, banks, and consumer advocates generally want to put out of business. With that said, I am surprised that there are not more public pawn shops- especially ones that trade OTC.

I would be interested to hear what potential clients would think of BRK's HQ other than the paperweight that Buffett has, which is made out of 100 dollar bills, it is pretty bare bones. Hell, Warren Buffett looks like a bum when put up against a guy in a nice well tailored suit! Sure, places should look nice. But 12 MILLION dollars for some obsolete maps, which were insider deals!? eeek!

"A dealer who had assisted Mr. McClendon in acquiring this collection over a period of six years advised the Company that the replacement value of the collection in December 2008 exceeded the purchase price by more than $8 million." Saying something like that is pretty pollyannish... To quote a great man (Buffett) I would liken it to asking a barber if you need a haircut. Of course the guy that brokered the deals will say that they are worth more than they were when he told his client to buy them! Why didn't they at least get an independent appraisal? Furthermore, if they were bought in the height of the real estate bubble, I am guessing that they were 'worth' more than they are now- but that is a very 'all things equal' guess. I do wonder if there were some reproduction maps that they could of ordered or even had made, which would have looked the same to the employees (since you wouldn't want them to be standing around, critiquing the finer points of obsolete maps), still fostered a good work environment, and cost around 1/10,000th of the price. Somewhat sarcastically, they should have bought the titanic artifacts from the Mark Sellers @ Premier; at least they would be able to use them to eat on if people would no longer to pay more than the last fool for them... :D

Question: do you think that over 800K/quarter in SG&A seem like a lot for 11 employees? obviously, they are working on getting the number down, but still... Are they just retaining brilliant people for the running of whatever company that they take over? Also, do you know what the remaining marketable securities are made up of? From your impression of management, could they be using them to build a stake in some public company, and then tender for the rest of it?

Thanks for the idea. Has anyone read the related party transactions for Clarus? It is pretty long, when compared to others... Not saying that it is a big deal, as I kind of view it as a fee to get a decent manager, but, it certainly seems to come at a price. Fortunately, there isn't a woolly mammoth skull like at Life Partners ;D To throw out some contrary info on the 'transaction is coming' theory: "During the quarter ended September 30, 2008, the Company incurred charges of approximately $14,000 for payments to Kanders Aviation LLC. " There have been no such expenses since. Granted, accounting expenses are a bit more of a smoking gun than air travel, and they may very well be related. Certainly, the move out of marketable securities is interesting... maybe out of t-bills and into some short run CDs? All things equal, it does seem cheap. I do wonder what kind of acquisition they will be able to make, especially if there is a downturn in equity/real estate/business prices around the corner. Just some thoughts.

I only researched the point raised, in regard to Brian Pardo's record; as it is the one that probably scares me the most. 1)"Life Partners' President Brian Pardo has scuffled with the SEC before. In 1989, the SEC filed a complaint against Pardo and his company Ask Corp. of Waco, charging him with falsifying financial reports to shareholders. Prado consented to the SEC's charges. By then, Ask Corp., a heating and air-conditioning company, already had filed for bankruptcy." http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/1997/05/05/story7.html 2) "The Commission filed a Complaint on July 19 in the O.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against ASK Corporation and its chairman and chief executive officer, Brian D. Pardo. The Complaint alleges that defendants violated the antifraud and reportingprovisions of the securities laws and that Pardo made false statements to ASK's audi-tors. The Commission alleges that defendants materially overstated ASK's revenues and profitsfor the first three quarters in each of its 1983 and 1984 fiscal years, and the first two quarters in fiscal 1985 and that in connection therewith, defendants, in filingswith the Commission, new releases, and letters to shareholders, made material misrepre-sentations. (SEC v. ASK Corporation" http://www.sec.gov/news/digest/1989/dig072089.pdf 3)As the icing on the cake, I found this little gem, with Pardo bitching about the evil short sellers way back in 1989... Keep in mind, that the short sellers were right that time. "ASK Corporation (NASDAQ: ASKC) said it has documented evidence substantiating claims of short selling abuses made yesterday at Congressional Sub-Committee hearings delving into the subject. ASK president, Brian D. Pardo, said professional short sellers operate in highly coordinated, well capitalized networks. The networks use a variety of tactics to manipulate and drive down the price of target company stocks." http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-7921042.html Certainly, I am taking a pass on this one. Once, when I took an anti-trust economics class, I read a case study (or ten) that all seemed to get at the fact that companies which engage in fraud and monopolistic practices once, have a much higher chance than others of doing so in the future. That really stuck with me- I certainly apply it to the management of the companies that I invest in. Without knowing a thing about the other points raised, this one scares the hell out of me. All other facts equal, without the company trading at something absurdly low; say, 1/20th of book or at a 1x multiple of cash flow, I am not interested.

http://www.citronresearch.com/index.php/2005/10/21/stocklemon-reports-on-fairfax-financial/index.php?s=For+investors%2C+this+Life+Partner+might+not+be+good+for+you+%E2%80%A6&submit=Search So what in there do you disagree with? Are you willing to talk about why you disagree with it? Being neither long nor short in LPHI, I am merely trying to get both sides of the story.

Can you provide some info on the short attack?