Parsad

Seminar on Value Investing and the Search for Value July 20-24, 2015 Toronto, ON This seminar, taught by Dr. George Athanassakos (Professor of Finance and the Ben Graham Chair in Value Investing at the Ivey Business School, Western University), is geared towards financial professionals and individual investors seeking to enhance their knowledge of value creation, valuation and value investing theory and practice. Mr. Andrew Brenton, CEO and co-founder, Turtle Creek Asset Management, will be a guest speaker on July 24. For more information see, http://valueinvestingeducation.com/seminars.htm

Jake Taylor of Farnamstreet Capital did a terrific little segment called "5GQ's With Pabrai & Spiers". Cheers!

The funny thing is when you guys talk about Festivus, Google Adsense puts out a "Seinfeld" ad on the message board. So, Festivus is obviously a target word. Cheers!

Would you take a photograph of my nephew with Santa? ;D Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all! Cheers!

Wow, over 260 views and not one comment?! Are you guys saying, "If it ain't broke, why fix it?" Cheers!

For all of you attending what has now essentially become a three-day event, I kind of wanted to get some feedback on how we can improve some of the events for attendees. Please answer the following questions: In 2015, we will have four speakers, a terrific buffet, silent auction, cash bar, nametags & registration, coat check, handheld Visa/MC keypad for silent auction purchases, photographer, and then off course, the main event with Prem and all of the Fairfax managers and executives. "How can we improve the annual dinner we hold?" "Do you want more silent auction items?" "Any specific speakers you would like to hear?" In terms of the Fairfax AGM, we can naturally provide some suggestions as we have done in the past. With their expansive AGM, including investee company booths, shareholder gift cards, food, drinks, access to the managers before and after the AGM, Prem's Q&A, etc. Unfortunately, the buses to and from Fairfax companies was not such a success. "How could they improve on their AGM?" "What would shareholders like to see from investee companies?" "What type of interactivity would you like to see from investee companies?" "What do shareholders expect more of out of the Fairfax investee companies?" "What was good and bad about the buses?" "Should Fairfax bring retail items from their stores to the AGM, or continue busing shareholders?" "Do shareholders like the gift cards, or would they prefer a straight discount like Berkshire does...say 10%?" Thanks very much for your feedback! Cheers!

They also pretty much replaced the entire board of directors! That's just plain crazy. Cheers!

As long as there are no publication or distribution restrictions on the letter, it should be ok to go ahead and post it. Cheers!

Sanj, You haven't changed a bit. You've always been well grounded. My favourite post of yours was one that you made on the Canadian board of the Motley Fool about 14 or 15 years ago when you sarcastically observed that Nortel at the time was worth more than the five big Canadian banks combined, along with a dozen or so other large Canadian companies. Some of us listened and reflected, while others dismissed you as a silly, old-school yokel. Well, I'm happy to say that I'm a silly, old-school yokel too! SJ Stubble, Over those 14-15 years, everything that has happened to me has sprung from one well...Ben Graham! You cannot be anything else, but old-school yokel, when things work that well like clockwork! You always get people saying why doesn't Prem adapt like Buffett and buy quality. Because buying cheap works just as well if not better! Prem doesn't need to guess about moats and competitive advantages, as we've seen how many moats collapsed in the last 12 years due to the internet. While the internet itself didn't affect investing fundamentals espoused by Ben Graham, it did damage alot of competitive advantages! Who would have thought the Washington Post would have collapsed as it did? What about Kodak? Dell? Sears? But you still could have made money when buying those various companies cheap and then selling when dear. Old school yokel only makes sense! :) Cheers!

20% sold in less than 24 hours! Cheers!

All I can say is that it is a new era! Things are fundamentally different...take a look around us: - Online shopping - Electric cars - Drones - Social media - Biotechnology P/E's don't matter. P/B doesn't matter. Debt is cheap. With this new paradigm and disruptive technology, investment managers have to be fleet of foot...adapt...Sun Tzu! It's about the alpha, not the beta. It's about using words like "superfluous" and "aggrandize". A new world era! Cheers!

Actually, the train from NYC to Philadelphia is a sweet 2 hour trip on a very nice double-decker train. My brother and I quite enjoyed it! But two hours is a long daily commute. More likely Mdhousa would have to go to Philly early Monday morning, and then come back home late Thursday night, enjoying Friday, Saturday and Sunday at home. But how would the missus feel about being the only caregiver to the kids three nights in the week? Tough choices! But as they say, "Happy wife, makes for happy life!" Cheers!

10th Annual Fairfax Financial Shareholder’s Dinner This will be our 10th year holding our Fairfax Financial Shareholder’s Dinner. It’s set for Wednesday, April 15th, 2015 at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto. We’ve always enjoyed support from Fairfax, and at our last dinner, Fairfax CEO Prem Watsa brought along about 12 other executives, managers and CEO’s with him. We will also have four excellent speakers again this year! The dinner is held in memory of JoAnn Butler, who was Prem Watsa’s executive assistant for many years. JoAnn passed away on May 12, 2009 from colon cancer, and she was instrumental in the success of our dinners each year. We raised $20,000 for “The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of Canada” in JoAnn’s memory last April…almost $70,200 in the last 5 years! CMC Fairfax Financial Shareholder’s Dinner Upper Canada Room - 18th Floor Wednesday, April 15th, 2015 Fairmont Royal York 100 Front Street West Toronto, Ontario (416) 368-2511 Presentation Only - $100.00 CDN Presentation & Expansive Full-Buffet Dinner - $200.00 CDN Cash Bar Tickets are completely sold out...all 140 tickets gone!! Please email me at cornerofberkshireandfairfax@gmail.com to be put on a waiting list for cancelled tickets. First come, first serve on the list. Last year, we had about 8 cancellations and those tickets went to the waiting list. If anyone is interested in corporate sponsorship of prizes, or any donors for prizes, please contact me at cornerofberkshireandfairfax@gmail.com.

Same thing, whether you use sugar, honey, fruit juice, sweet wine, etc. The sugar offsets the bitterness and acidity of other ingredients. Sugar (whatever form) also carmelizes on the outside of the meat (any meat) and that is where much of the flavour resides...especially in good BBQ with a deep rich bark. For those that enjoy coffee, my favorite BBQ rub for meat also includes adding fresh, coffee grounds to the rub. If you like to use a BBQ sauce afterwards, then simmer a pot of coffee made with the same type of coffee grounds, until thickened...mix some of the thickened brew into your BBQ sauce. Makes for an amazing BBQ! Cheers!

Most good dry rubs have some sugar. Are you avoiding sugar altogether or just reducing the amount you use? What about natural sugars in juices...sweet wines? You can use a dry rub without sugar, but it won't offset the bitterness of your other ingredients (herbs and spices). So it won't taste as good...more cajun, less Memphis! Cheers!

There is so much wrong with my mental picture of this: 1) If my math is correct you are over 40. What are you going to do next - a few lines of coke and fall out of a tree. 2) Two legs = two skis (Not One). 3) Independent wealth is apparently bad for ones health. That Rhymes BTW. I last snowboarded when I was around 35. I was sore for two weeks from doing face plants from 8 feet (5 feet plus 3 feet of hill). Still ski though. Beat my nephew on a straight downhill speed race last year. Happy Thanksgiving! To all! LOL! I thought he meant a halfpipe in surfing, because I know he took up surfing several months ago. Now snowboarding! Then again, Eric is wrapping his broken thumb in $100 bills...that must numb the pain a little! :) Cheers!

Hi Petec, I hope surrounding yourself with your friends on here provides some measure of support! There are a lot of us here. All the best, Sanjeev

No problem :) By the way, where did you see the 95% occupancy statistic? Was it in one of their recent monthly letters? I didn't come across it, but I wasn't looking for it. Cheers! 95% occupancy means nothing when the rent doesn't cover expenses. I can get you 95% occupancy in any city if I price the rent significantly less than operating costs. They were buying property all through the commodity bubble...bubble burst! Unless commodity prices rise again in the next few years, I cannot see how their real estate value won't come down. Stock is reflecting that sentiment. Cheers! There's no question there. It'd be better if they had 20% occupancy with $2m in revenue then at least if expenses stayed in a similar range and revenues went up 4-5x they'd make money. But 95% occupancy means there's not much more room for revenue growth. Just curious Parsad, what do you think the long term play for the management is? They clearly can't run the company like this for too long. They'll run out of cash. So as Anders seemed to imply (Anders, please correct me if I'm mistaken), the end goal seems to be appreciation and not cash flow? I think the end goal is appreciation of the real estate portfolio. Insurance did not work out at all, so the plan had to change...become only a real estate company. But they were buying real estate when Mongolia was the only frontier left. The Gold Rush tide in Mongolia may have just ebbed and that appreciation may be a long ways out. Harris seems to have a knack for finding the new frontiers, but he has missed the timing on when to exit before. I have no real idea what will happen here, but we've never owned YAK and have no plans to own it. Jordan at least seems to have hedged his bets a bit, and has been consistently selling over the last couple of years...got rid of about a third of his holdings in the $3+ range on average...good for Calonego and family! Cheers!

No problem :) By the way, where did you see the 95% occupancy statistic? Was it in one of their recent monthly letters? I didn't come across it, but I wasn't looking for it. Cheers! 95% occupancy means nothing when the rent doesn't cover expenses. I can get you 95% occupancy in any city if I price the rent significantly less than operating costs. They were buying property all through the commodity bubble...bubble burst! Unless commodity prices rise again in the next few years, I cannot see how their real estate value won't come down. Stock is reflecting that sentiment. Cheers!

I'm thankful that I stumbled across Berkshire Hathaway's new website in 1998 and read that year's Letter to Shareholders. I was lost in the darkness of my father's death and that letter was the light I needed to find my way! Almost every good thing that has happened to me since...from my family life, friends I've made, Corner Market Capital, Corner of Berkshire & Fairfax, non-profit work, Premier Diagnostics, you name it...was because of that one event. Buffett once said that "Ben Graham was like a God to him." Mine live in Omaha and Toronto! A Happy Thanksgiving to you all! Cheers!

Mohnish presenting to Boston College! Cheers!

The Orange County Business Journal had a little expose on Mohnish's cycling passion...look at those toned legs...he's really getting into good shape! Cheers! OC_Business_Journal_-_November_10_2014.pdf

I could see why some of the boys took him for snobby. He had a quiet way about him, a walk and a talk that just wasn't normal around here. He strolled, like a man in a park without a care or a worry in the world, like he had on an invisible coat that would shield him from this place. Yeah, I think it would be fair to say...I liked Andy from the start. Good luck hitting your 1,000th post! I look forward to it. All the best, Sanjeev

There's about 15 hours left to bid...$19,100 at the moment: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Power-Lunch-with-Mohnish-Pabrai-/121466549354?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c47f8746a Conference call is at $2,060 with 7 days left: http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=121466555194&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2565 Get your bids in! Cheers!

Dear Friends, Hope all is well. This year, we will be holding two E-bay auctions to benefit Dakshana Foundation: 1) The 4th annual power lunch with me for you and up to 7 of your friends, and 2) A 30 minute conference call with me for you and up to 4 of your friends. For the lunch, I'll be delighted to dine with the winning bidder and up to seven friends on a mutually agreed upon date, anywhere in Southern California or on Friday, September 18th, 2015 in Chicago or in April 2015 in New York City or any metro city in India or any other mutually agreeable location. And I'll pick up the tab for the lunch as well. I have also added a bonus for the winner: They get my old wallet which, it is rumored, includes a stock tip. For the conference call, we will find a mutually agreeable time for me to host a 30 minute conference call for you and your friends. A stock tip is rumored to be offered on the call. In the true spirit of a market-driven auction, the starting bid is set at $0.01 with no minimum. You can bid on these auctions at the following links: Power Lunch with Mohnish - Ebay Item #121466549354 Conference Call with Mohnish - Ebay Item #121466555194 The lunch auction will begin on Tuesday, October 21st and end at 4:00 p.m. PST on Friday, October 31st. The conference call auction will begin on Tuesday, October 28th and end at 4:00 p.m. PST on Friday, November 7th. 100% of the proceeds go to benefit Dakshana Scholars. The money could not go to a better cause. Happy bidding! Warmly, Mohnish Pabrai