Parsad

Hi Norm, Yes, the Ben Graham Dinner would be Monday night. If you guys felt that the Railcar Bar was too tight or inadequate, we can change that. It's a good idea to keep it in the hotel, because it makes it easier for Francis to bring you guys good guests. The further they have to walk, the less likely you'll get as good guests, and most definitely the less time they'll be able to spend with you guys. Let me know what you want to do, and I can arrange a separate small room to hold the pre-dinner drinks meeting in with a cash bar and maybe theatre/classroom seating. Although, when I went into the Railcar Bar...while full and tight...it had a very intimate feeling and was very easy to hear the Q&A. Whatever you guys decide...let me know. Cheers!

Modest changes on the actual message board...more to do with functionality...as well as with the ads. You won't ever see those textual moving ads on here again. But the ad positions will be more clear, and I will be able to sell ads to things/events that are related to value investing. The big changes will be to the homepage, which is barely a functioning entity right now. It will be mobile/tablet ready with a live feed of the newest posts from the message board. There will be a section where I can post stories, and a section where I will have specific event information, combined with a blog of sorts where I can put the occasional article, story or interview. Really, just trying to get a more coherent strategy on how the board is set up and works. After that, we will continue to improve the message board with new features, etc, that you guys may like or desire. They will always be little changes over time, because alot of what the message board's main purpose is, already exists for users. It's getting things fine-tuned to make your time spent here easier. Feel free to start showering me with ideas and improvements you guys want, and what I can incorporate now I will, and the more complicated stuff I will add over time. Cheers!

The Fairfax Financial 2014 AGM will be on April 9th, 2014 at Roy Thomson Hall...back to Wednesday! ;D http://www.fairfax.ca/Investors/shareholder-information/default.aspx Our Fairfax Financial Shareholder's Dinner will be on Tuesday, April 8th, 2014 at the Fairmont Royal York. The MPIC Fund's AGM will be on Wednesday, April 9th, 2014 starting around 1pm or so, in the Pickering/Green rooms once at Roy Thomson Hall. Cheers!

Hi Folks, You may notice the occasional disruption in the board, as I am upgrading a number of things with Paul Clerc at Watermelon Webworks. Please excuse any downtime, as there will be improvements made in the ensuing weeks that will make it worth it. If the site does go down though, please email me and that way I can get Watermelon Webworks to reboot it right away. I was at lunch for Alnesh's birthday right now, so I didn't know anything was wrong until I got Buffett Groupie's email. Thanks very much! Sanjeev

Check out the young analyst/manager at the 20 minute mark who explains why Buffett doesn't quite get technology..."He's an older guy..." This guy needs to attend a few more BRK AGM's! ;D Cheers!

Here is the link to the China Television interview with Buffett around the time of the AGM this year. Much of it is in Chinese, but there are some English portions. Our boardmember, Buffett Groupie, had a CCTV press pass for this year's AGM too! Cheers! http://tv.cntv.cn/video/C10329/2925896759784c51a861319c2244925f

Begins Sunday. Cheers! http://finance.yahoo.com/news/auction-lunch-warren-buffett-starts-101147838.html

Yup! So do quite a few other people in the office. Be careful what you guys say! ;D Cheers!

Incidentally, welcome back Lotsofcoke! For those of you who don't know, it was Lotsofcoke who took me to my first Yellow BRK'ers party back in 2001, where I ended up meeting Buffett. The rest is history and this board pretty much exists because of that. Cheers!

Incidentally, since Prem reads this board, he will be very upset at anyone who buys any other phone instead of a Z10 or Q10. He will not pay your annual dividend if he finds out you bought a non-Blackberry phone. He will also get Thorsten to break your little, girly phones with his big brawny hands. ;D He's a big guy...looks slight on television, but he's big! Cheers!

Anyone familiar with auditors in the Cayman Islands. We will be setting up our offshore fund there, and outside of the big boys, is anyone familiar with the small or mid-size firms? Any recommendations or referrals? I will be contacting a number of them for quotes (including the big boys), shortlisting them, and then getting comfortable with them on a conference call. Thanks very much for any help you guys can provide! Also, any third party fund administrators you guys are very happy with and would recommend...in the Cayman Islands or onshore? I'm checking UBS' fund administration services and I know a lot of people use Michael J. Liccar...any other recommendations? Cheers!

Also, if the government does end up convicting or settling with Cohen, can Fairfax refile their civil lawsuit and go after him and his assets? Cheers!

"Five Key Things About SAC Insider Case"...from Bloomberg...also discusses Fairfax's lawsuit. Cheers! http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-24/five-key-things-about-the-sac-insider-case.html?cmpid=yhoo

Some more comments by Bass about BOJ. Cheers! http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-23/boj-bond-buying-to-be-overwhelmed-by-investor-sales-bass-says.html

Three more senior SAC executives subpoenaed! Hey, we don't have a culture of corruption...what are you talkin' about! Cheers! http://www.cnbc.com/id/100736888

After reading the article, and reading the comments by readers, I can't say that the article gives me any insights into how to value the markets? I think there is direct evidence that too much analysis, and not enough rationality, is what is making markets undecipherable between the bulls and the bears. Ignore the analysis and buy when you find things are cheap. Right now, I cannot find much cheap stuff! Cheers!

Extreme measures can have extreme consequences. If governments start to compress the spring, at some point the spring will pop back up with greater force. Government officials have to be very careful in what they are doing...no one knows what the repercussions could be. Cheers!

Yup...exactly right. Same with Fairfax, Markel, etc. They don't have to kill it...just do well...and the leverage takes care of the rest. Cheers!

Except the defaults are really low which indicates a low level of distress out there, not a high level. You're right Eric. The concern is when rates start to rise. Look at how Japan reacted tonight...down over 7% and yields shot up on their bonds. Just the beginning! Markets will eventually ease and incorporate the Fed's change in stance, but because there is so much "fast money" (should be "dumb money") out there, we will see some sort of correction. As rates fluctuate, risk premiums of assets will have to fluctuate. The concern becomes what is the eventual fallout from rising rates on indebted nations or financial institutions? Remember, European banks have not been restructured like U.S. banks. They've just been provided cheap access to capital. But what if the European government cannot provide that cheap access? Things will work out in the long-run, but the pain from overindulgence isn't finished for the world just yet. Cheers!

One day does not make a trend, but you guys should keep an eye on this: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100760159 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-23/japan-s-bonds-fall-on-fed-comments-as-10-year-yield-rises-to-1-.html We talked about both these issues at our AGM this year. As Prem mentioned in the annual letter and at the AGM, the outcome of so much intervention is completely uncertain when that intervention is removed. Cheers!

Have you considered buying sovereign CDS (on Japan, Italy, etc.)? The market is clearly trading orders of magnitude away from your prediction. A good indicator on this will be Francis. He is one of the few mutual funds that has clearance to buy CDS. If you see him doing something like that in the next few months, it will be a pretty good guide. Cheers! Sanj, do you know if this is true for his American funds, or just the Canadian ones? Hi Mdhousa, Not sure, but I would suspect that he can, as he can also go well over 10% positions, etc. Best to probably check the fund offering documents on their website. Cheers!

The rule should really be: "Buy and CAN hold for the LONG-TERM!" Meaning, you buy businesses that you can hold for long periods of time at an excellent discount to intrinsic value. That way you can hold the investment until the markets arbitrage the difference. And/or continue to hold if intrinsic value continues to grow at an adequate rate. Cheers!

Oh well, I'm not going to cash. I just can't do it. Market is just too fun and I don't have a day job anyhow. Eric, this just won't do! We're going to have to find you a real job with your growing family. Come work for me...plastics, my boy...plastics! That's the future. ;D Cheers!

Have you considered buying sovereign CDS (on Japan, Italy, etc.)? The market is clearly trading orders of magnitude away from your prediction. No...we use cash as a hedge. Also, you have to have more money than us to buy CDS as an institutional investor. A good indicator on this will be Francis. He is one of the few mutual funds that has clearance to buy CDS. If you see him doing something like that in the next few months, it will be a pretty good guide. Cheers!

The recovery in many respects while robust, is still tepid in many other ways...so I don't think he wants to do anything to affect the recovery until it has both legs under itself and is self-perpetuating. Cheers!