Parsad

per cdc: "if a symptomatic patient with Ebola coughs or sneezes on someone, and saliva or mucus come into contact with that person’s eyes, nose or mouth, these fluids may transmit the disease" That is not what it means to be airborne. The Ebola would be living in the fluid droplets and not the air itself. That's a big difference in terms of transmission. Also, your chances of coming into contact with a symptomatic Ebola patient are slim assuming you're not medical worker. If someone with ebola sneezes next to you, you have a real chance of becoming infected. That is not a controversial statement. That warrants significant precaution. And maybe a minor panic isn't such a bad idea, if it means we do a better job containing the virus. I would agree with that sentiment. The fact that most governments have taken a completely lackadaisical view of it till this point, is why it has become the worst case of Ebola infection in history. They should be pouring all the resources they can to put the fire out now! Otherwise, this gets a lot worse over the next three to five years. Cheers!

...interested in selling their asset management business, please contact me at cornermarketcapital@gmail.com. Whether you are interested in leaving the business, or would like to continue in some fashion, feel free to contact me. Closed-ended, open-ended, mutual fund, hedge fund, etc...doesn't matter...would be interested in speaking to you. Thanks very much! Sanjeev

Dairy Queen hacked: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/berkshire-owned-dairy-queen-says-173503393.html Cheers!

Some of you know my brother Aman, who I raised from when he was nine years old after our father died. Well, he and his wife Amrita, had their first child yesterday. I'd like the board to welcome my nephew, Aikum, the youngest value investor in our family! He'll be the guest of honor at our Fairfax Financial dinner next year. The picture below is Aman and Aikum shortly after he was born. Cheers!

For our boardmember Buffett_Groupie, who always ends up in every picture! ;D Cheers!

Prem has not run a good insurance operation at all over the comparable timeframe. Yes, Odyssey has brought some insurance wherewithal to FFH and thus it is all conjecture at this point that ORH insurance prowess is readily scalable across FFH. I sold out of FFH waiting to see how they do as an insurance operator. Five years at least for me. I'm not sure that being correct on your decision to sell, necessarily equates to Prem not running a good insurance business during that time period. During the financial crisis, there were only two companies that would have been left standing and would have been the last two to fall...Berkshire...and many might call it dumb luck because of the credit default swaps...and Fairfax. But the rest of their portfolio was also extraordinarily prepared...so how dumb was it really? And then let's examine the second part of that period...what if central banks weren't able to deleverage as easily as they did or if there had been some reluctance in Europe? Then how would the last five years have looked? In terms of an operating business, whether the gains have been through investments or insurance are irrelevant, since in any good insurance company, the results are measured by accumulated losses, investment gains and operating costs. In those terms, Fairfax has averaged 21.3% annualized increase in book per share. But the critics often like to pick and choose, so they regularly say throw out Fairfax's first year. Even then, they've compounded at a terrific 17.6% in book per share. What's past is prologue! The only real comparison between BRK and FFH is what would happen if there are two or 3 years of disasters, like KRW & Earthquakes & floods. The insurance clock will be reset then. The largest Insurers of today, State Farm, Allstate are said to be vulnerable. Will FFH be found with or without clothes when that tide goes out? Berkshire will do fine. Especially in the aftermath. What's the probability of this happening? It is non zero. It has happened in the last 100 years. I don't think Fairfax can handle such circumstances as well as Berkshire, but I think they will be handle it better than most critics think. The insurance operations are changing and you can see it in the underwriting since Andy's been given control. Does that mean we'll continue to see such results...only time will tell. But the fact that they are moving away from acquiring shitty insurers at less than book, and paying up for better quality insurers, is surely a step in the right direction to strengthening their insurance business. Fairfax is not Berkshire and never will be. Just like the Pabrai Funds and Dhandho will never be like the original Buffett Partnership or Berkshire. But these earnest people doing the best they can at replicating the model will prove to be successful. They may not always do it the same way or as well, but a certain level of success over their peers will most likely occur. Markel is another example of copying the model. They don't have to be as great as Berkshire to have success...they just have to be really good! Cheers!

Mohnish presentation for Pan-IIT. Cheers!

I think Warren jumped the shark after sitting in on the "Money Team" with Mayweather on the weekend! Very funny, and only he could do it, but at some point...damn it man, get a grip! Seeing Munger in a gold, metallic track suit with gold chains on was bad enough, but it's time for some decorum from these two old hipsters. Soon they'll be hanging out with PDiddy and Two Chains. Cheers!

Yes, but not quite yet. Towards the end of the year, I will put out some feelers for what we are looking for. Cheers!

Again, Sedar.com...look at Management Information Circular. Naturally, it won't be current, but I can't comment on anything until filed. The next Management Information Circular will give you more up to date information, but that is a ways off. You can also dig around SEDI to see changes in holdings and work it out. Cheers!

Sedar.com. Keep in mind, we are in transition...the current financials aren't pretty. Cheers!

And buy some expensive abstract art for the lobby! I've also installed 24 monitors in my office for trading! ;D Actually, I took one of the smallest offices...24 monitors wouldn't fit. The nicest offices are going to be subleased to cut overhead. Cheers! Personally, I'll know that you made it big when your private pictures start being leaked on the internet :-) Congrats Sanjeev, know that you have a bunch of people pulling for you that you can reach out to whenever and for whatever, and trust me, in life as in business, this intangible is priceless. For everything else use your corporate AMEX card now that you're the boss :-) Congrats again buddy. Much appreciated and I couldn't agree more! Corporate cards were all cut up except for one...I don't use it. New fiscal policy for the company was created and given out. We've gotten leaner, but will get even more so. Treat shareholder's money as fiduciaries...not personal piggy banks! Corporate culture is finally headed in the right direction. Cheers!

As the company develops, the name will develop, but the "Premier" name stays. Cheers! Premier Holdings Premier Corner Permierdyne Premier Hathaway ;) Nice ring to it. Premier Holdings was taken...checked it already a few weeks ago! ;D Cheers!

And buy some expensive abstract art for the lobby! I've also installed 24 monitors in my office for trading! ;D Actually, I took one of the smallest offices...24 monitors wouldn't fit. The nicest offices are going to be subleased to cut overhead. Cheers!

As the company develops, the name will develop, but the "Premier" name stays. Cheers!

LOL! Essentially. The funds go into a law firm trust account. They issue the certificate and it is delivered to your broker, or wherever you desire the certificate to be delivered. Mohnish just did one for $110M...I don't think there were any real issues. We are going to be doing one for $10M...I'm pretty sure we can avoid any problems. Cheers! I see. Pabrai didn't do well in 2008. A 66% mark to market loss. While it is quite fine in his fund, it may not work out well as a reinsurance company. Regulators could push for capital raise at that point. How are you going to handle that problem with this new reinsurance vehicle? You'll see. The risk isn't on our balance sheet. Cheers!

Accredited, but as LC said, you will be able to buy shares in the open market...maybe not at the same price as the private placement though. Cheers!

Public company will be investing directly in Bermuda vehicle. MPIC Funds will be the largest shareholder in the public company. All acquisitions of private enterprises will occur through the public company, while MPIC will continue to manage assets as it does. At some point, Corner Market Capital (MPIC's general partner) will be roled into the company like Hamblin-Watsa was in Fairfax, and it will become another cash flow machine for the pubco. Already a public company. Press release will go out in the next couple of days. Will move to a larger listing in the New Year. Cheers! Will this reinsurance company also invest in publicly traded stocks, or only buying out private companies? In other words, will it run similar to Berkshire's model? Yes, but a wee bit smaller! ;D Cheers!

LOL! Essentially. The funds go into a law firm trust account. They issue the certificate and it is delivered to your broker, or wherever you desire the certificate to be delivered. Mohnish just did one for $110M...I don't think there were any real issues. We are going to be doing one for $10M...I'm pretty sure we can avoid any problems. Cheers!

I try to always be as polite as I can… but that post was a very poor one! To endorse it is just as poorly done. The fact is always the same: long term investments might bear wonderful fruits in the long run, but a lot of patience might be required. Because in the short run, instead, they might look like a drag on performance. Therefore, if you think you have a great entrepreneur, who will maximize value in the long run, you want to put him in the conditions to proceed undisturbed. Cheers, Gio Why was it poor to endorse that post? I don't think he could have made the difference between management and ownership any clearer. Sardar works for the shareholders...his duty is to do his job, not feel "safe". If the shareholders or owners want to toss him on his rear or keep him, that is completely up to them. It's not up to Sardar to entrench himself, but to vote his shares the way he wants...that's it! The fact is that the shareholders kept getting the wool pulled over their eyes and agreed to many of the features that helped entrench him. They finally said enough is enough on the compensation package, and so Sardar had to find a way around it. Did he not feel "safe" enough, is that why he had to buy back the fund business after selling it to the company? Of course not! It had nothing to do with it. He just wanted to remove the cap from his compensation, and no one was going to stop him...not even the shareholders! Can you believe that? Cheers!

The problem imo is very simple and clear: you are going on and on comparing Biglari to Buffett, he instead seems to suggest “if you are looking for the next Berkshire, look somewhere else!”. Then why milk the whole Buffett philosophy and image, right down to even the look and typeface of his annual report? But not live up to the ethics and shareholder-friendly standards set by him. Who knows, perhaps his "look somewhere else" statement should be taken as a precaution, rather than a goal or objective! Cheers!

The problem imo is very simple and clear: you are going on and on comparing Biglari to Buffett, he instead seems to suggest “if you are looking for the next Berkshire, look somewhere else!”. Biglari knows very well that in business each situation is different, and the right course of action each time is different. Buffett never had to deal with control. Munger referred to Buffett in the early days calling him “the serial acquirer”, but evidently to buy a very large percentage of Berkshire back then was not so expensive as to buy the same percentage of BH today. There is simply no way Biglari could get control over BH buying its equity today. Yet, control is crucial. Anyone who runs a business finds out pretty soon how crucial control actually is! And, as I have always said, I want him to be in charge and to feel safe. The less time he worries about his position and about someone buying a lot of BH and starting questioning his business decisions and actions, the more time he can devote to enhance value. Gio The problem imo is very simple and clear: you are confused on the difference between the owners and the management. You do understand what a shareholder is right? Each share of a class gives equal rights and equal control. IMO anyone trying to gain control of a company without having majority ownership would be basically stealing shareholder rights. The business belongs to the shareholders NOT THE MANAGEMENT. Management is in charge of the company but The shareholders are in charge of Management. Management is not supposed to be so "safe" that the owners (shareholders) cant remove them or are forced to pay to remove management. +1! And "safe" do what? Implement compensation packages, agreements, share classes, trademarks, name changes, etc?! He would be "safe" if he focused solely on the management side, and less about his own security. Cheers!

LOL! Not unlike Buffett, it wasn't GEICO that he managed to control, but Berkshire Hathaway. He retained the name to remind him what an awful purchase it was. Our circumstances are very similar...it wasn't Russell Breweries that we managed to control, but a distressed business where intrinsic value was considerably underwhelming like Berkshire in its original state. We will keep part or all of this company's name in the future to remind us of the same thing. I will give you one anecdote that will illustrate the culture we are trying to create. I've refused a CEO's salary, because I denied our controller a pay raise. Instead, I've told the board that I would like to get paid $500 less than our controller annually, and will not take a pay raise until he gets one. I will give you one further anecdote to illustrate the type of people we are trying to retain and hire. When I became involved with the company's finances a few months ago, our controller had not been paid for 10 weeks...in fact, none of the core employees had been paid for 10 weeks, but they kept on working! We've caught up on all of their salaries after I became involved, and retained those employees. They could not be happier and morale could not be better. I told them I cannot believe they did not leave and promised them they would always be paid every pay period going forward. Cheers!

Hey shalab, Interesting proposition. Why would you want Biglari to give up CEO to be CIO? While I wasn't initially happy about the trademark agreement, I believe it serves his long-term value enhancing plan well. Most investors want results today, but to maximize value can take a while. This allows him to implement and work his plan without disruption from outsiders. Biglari is the reason SNS has become a better brand and why BH is doing what it's doing. I view it similar to the shareholder proposal to have BRK start issuing dividends. Doing so would kill BRK's value enhancing strategy of retaining all earnings and buy operating businesses/ securities. Thx for sharing! FC Biglari has added tremendous value as CEO...CIO would not make any sense. But don't kid yourself about why the trademark agreement was put in place. It has nothing to do with long-term enhancing value and everything with entrenching himself. The greatest investor in history, who knows everything about enhancing value, never had such an agreement...nor would one ever cross his mind. Even Buffett cannot put his ego ahead of his humility, no matter how much it might improve the "Buffett" brand. Cheers!

All of the above! Will be open to Canadian and U.S. accredited investors. There is a secondary option for international investors through a capital raising we will be doing in Hong Kong...I'll explain that at the time. The private placement will get you in at a set price...the same as us and all other existing shareholders. You can buy in the open market as well, but it is unlikely you will get this price, since we and other shareholders will probably buy any stock available at the private placement price. We may increase the private placement size, as I'm being overwhelmed by responses since last night. I've got you guys all in order and the documents will be sent in that order, but it may take me a few days to confirm your email, as I'm tied up on a number of things as you can probably understand. Cheers!