Parsad

Personally, I find "7) Scuttlebutt" the least useful. It's more for my own interest and a little more understanding of the business, than any real value about whether it is a good investment. Business biographies are often useless as well...they give a historical perspective, but really do not assist you in finding investments that are out of favor. I find the newspapers useful. Mainly for a general understanding of what is going on in the world, as well as often I find an idea or industry that is out of favor and the newspapers are just ripping into it. Magazines, trade publications, television (including Bloomberg, PBS, CNBC, etc) all work for the same reasons as newspapers. The most useful thing is reading 10-Q's and 10-K's. Digging into various businesses, building that circle out and formulating an extensive library in your own head for easy, quick reference. I could not have imagined 10 years ago, that I would grasp the hundreds of stocks that are now in my head, or the dozens of companies I follow everyday and can value in just a few minutes. If for some reason their price falls a significant amount for an inexplicable or irrational reason, it's very easy to just buy that business. You also end up creating mental checklists rather than actual checklists like many people recommend you use. The one thing that I don't use yet, but probably will get in the next couple of years is a Bloomberg terminal. I generally get our brokers to dig up anything I'm interested in and then send me quotes, screenshots, etc. But I can see that I would be able to do alot of things on a Bloomberg terminal, that take up alot more time now by trying it to do it manually or through other sources. Cheers!

Yes, it is marked to market. Cheers!

Francis has sold off about 80% of his BAC warrants, doubled down on DELL, added MBIA and eliminated Office Depot. Cheers! http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1389403/000114420413008799/v335242_13fhr.txt

Cash rich, liquid, hedged Fort Knox...status quo at Fairfax as they are still concerned...book value is $378/share. Cheers!

Here they are: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/fairfax-financial-holdings-limited-financial-220200180.html Cheers!

Nice call Petey! Cheers!

They aren't posting because they don't want more people there! ;D Selfish pricks! Cheers!

Guy was at our dinner last year, as well as the FFH AGM. Cheers!

Yeah, they would do well, but they'd be competing with alot of local chains, as well as Famous Dave's. They would need to have someone who knows how to really franchise. Cheers!

Yes, there used to be one there. I think it's some sort of Lounge now. Cheers!

For you restaurant business junkies like myself. Ignite is buying Romano's from Golden Gate Capital for $55M. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ignite-buy-romanos-macaroni-224952504.html Pretty good deal, since Golden Gate bought it from Brinkers in 2008 for $131.5M! Cheers! http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/08/18/us-brinker-romanos-idUSWNAB758320080818

The S&P500 earnings are around $105 and it's at 1517...so roughly about 15 times earnings. Neither cheap, nor expensive historically. It won't provide you returns larger than growth in GDP and inflation plus dividends. You also have no boost from interest rates, nor profit margins, which are at historical lows and highs respectively. Cheers! Sanjeev a question for you...do you attempt to do a rough calculation of the free "call/put option" of cash? It seems to me that this cash option has an inverse relationship with the market P/E. To state the obvious, when prices in the market are high (on average), cash's option is more valuable because the market has more downside. Do you think along these lines at all in terms of holding cash, or do you just say to yourself, "well, everything's expensive, and I wouldn't buy some of what I already own at these prices...so let me sell a bit and wait until things get cheaper"? I think most investment managers view cash as an asset class...one that doesn't do well relative to stocks when viewed long-term. But their views become myopic when it comes to the short-term value of cash because of that very trait. So managers, and many investors, want to be fully invested at all times. If you cannot find cheap stocks, then buy alot more of what you already own...but stay fully invested at all times. Unfortunately, when you view cash in those terms, you never realize that very inverse relationship you described above. Cash doesn't have a 1-1 value when markets go down...it becomes exponential the further markets fall. So when you buy something at 1 times book, rather than wait for half of book, you give up significant returns...probably far more than the short-term low rate of return cash provides relative to stocks at higher valuations. Cheers!

I cannot. Just like I cannot understand the disconnect between Buffett's behavior and the behavior of CEO's he supports. I think they live their lives one way, but don't impose that on others. It's too bad, because I think the reputation of those other CEO's would be hell of alot better...they just wouldn't be as rich as quickly! ;D Cheers!

Mukesh Ambani believes U.S. will be energy independent by as early as 2018. Cheers! http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-09/ambani-says-u-s-to-be-energy-independent-in-5-7-years.html

Article on the new $65M Gulfstream 650 supersonic passenger plane. Brief mention of Buffett's interest...not sure for personal use or Netjets. Cheers! http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/06/travel/private-jets/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

Nope, belongs in General Category as it screws up the Investment Ideas library. Cheers!

Markets may go up because that cash comes in, but from a simple risk premium standpoint, the markets are not providing adequate compensation. And as I mentioned, I cannot find any single asset class that provides that premium right now...even housing has turned and while not expensive, prices have risen swiftly. We aren't leaving the markets whole hog or anything, but we have to be very vigilant about the choices we make now. They have to be very cheap. You don't want one step forward and three steps back! Cheers!

The funny thing is that Buffett has already conceded to giving away all of his wealth to the world, and has begun to do so. I think Buffett's belief in retaining control was simply because he understood that he could grow it faster than anyone else...that the sole goal was to give away as much as he could, and that meant he had to retain control for as long as he could. I can't imagine anything more selfless as he could see the future. Buffett could have chosen to give all his wealth away when it was only at $1B, but he understood that he could create 1000 times more change by delaying the inevitable. I'm of the belief that God does not exist...but we as human beings are empowered to act as "God" would and create the world that we would want to live in. Instead of praying, we are empowered to make change...and that is not based on faith in someone or something, but in ourselves. I think the idea of religion simply enables a trait that is already inherently within every person. So it's why I'm giving religious faith zero value...it's really upon the individual if that trait is active...be it by choice or enabled by faith. Cheers!

Sorry Grenville had already posted on this briefly: http://www.cornerofberkshireandfairfax.ca/forum/fairfax-financial/energy-transactions/ Cheers!

Fairfax has acquired 67% of the shares in Colombia Energy Resources...less than $2M market cap. Why didn't they just come to us, we could have done this one! ;D http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/915191/000119312513046230/d483918dsc13ga.htm http://colombiaenergyresources.com/ Cheers!

The S&P500 earnings are around $105 and it's at 1517...so roughly about 15 times earnings. Neither cheap, nor expensive historically. It won't provide you returns larger than growth in GDP and inflation plus dividends. You also have no boost from interest rates, nor profit margins, which are at historical lows and highs respectively. Cheers!

That adds zero value (be it one of faith or not) to either of them. There are plenty of people, both of faith and athiests, who do very stupid and unethical things. I would not allocate faith with any sort of value as a manager. Cheers!

If the risk premium for stocks (I'm speaking broad market) is priced as it is because interest rates are at 2%, then do you think you are getting a big enough margin of safety? I don't think so. You aren't getting enough risk premium in any asset class right now. My opinion is if you find a cheap stock with enough margin of safety, and you should be assuming a discount rate of no less than 8% or a liquidiation value of 80% of book, then buy that individual investment. But the broad market, and in fact no single asset class presently, provides that sort of margin of safety. I have no way to tell you when markets will correct, or even if this market will run another 20-30% before correcting...I just know that I'm having a very hard time finding any idea with an adequate margin of safety other than what I presently own. And yes, you can go 100% into the ideas you presently own, but remember there is an embedded option in cash and the value of that option increases as the market turns down, with no significant effect if you do not act for a short period of time. Cheers!

I think that if you have a second chance then you are able to do whatever you wish. Legally of course. Clean slate etc... My concern here is not the second chance but the covering up of the past... One thing I haven't been able to work out - whats his connection to SAC??? SAC? Where did you see that. Cheers!

That's pretty cool that Munger praised Mohnish. It's like getting a nice pat on the back by one of your heroes...and Munger doesn't throw out accolades very often! Cheers!