Parsad

Thanks! Good interview. Cheers!

There may be a bear market coming and there may not be, but that article was a load of rubbish! No offense intended, but that was so difficult to read and actually view it with any rational sense. Cheers!

Article on "The Giving Pledge." Cheers! http://www.cnbc.com/id/48590809

Carl Icahn is funding his son's investment fund with $3B. Cheers! http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-14/carl-icahn-hands-son-brett-3-billion-to-prove-his-mettle.html

He's got about $500M in AUM, and Dataroma only shows $240M, so while he's more concentrated than in the recent past, it isn't as concentrated as Dataroma would have you believe. I'm glad he's gone back to more of the 10X10 structure...more volatile, but it will work better over the long-run. Cheers!

Don't think it will be disruptive, but rather ideas being adapted. You will get better technology, but since it is open source and not patented, everyone will adapt to it and apply it, including the existing for-profit companies. Cheers!

Hey Glenn, Sorry, I was out of the office last week. I'll give you a call Monday. Cheers!

Those numbers are a little skewed as they don't include cash and foreign holdings. I would reduce those percentages by about 45%. So I wonder who he was crediting as the best CEO he owns outside of Buffett & Munger...Aubrey McClendon, Brian Moynihan? Personally, I would say it's Prem Watsa hands down as a leader, businessperson and investor...as well as the charm, charisma and humility of Buffett. Cheers!

They are on the hook, but there is a lot of hassle proving that you did not do anything to expose your personal information. It then also takes a week or two for them to return the funds to your account. Haven't experienced it myself, but a couple of people I know who had their cards fraudulently used said the experience was not fun...although they were both here in Canada. I would assume the protocol in the U.S. is not any different. Cheers!

Maybe tomorrow Byrne will get to the business of running overstock. Have you checked the finanacials for the last two quarters? I bet they are profitable for all four quarters in 2012...and will finish the year with $20M+ in net profits. Cheers!

Will take some time to reduce loan losses, but at the moment, they continue to increase. Cheers! http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-10/bank-of-ireland-first-half-pretax-loss-more-than-doubles-1-.html?cmpid=yhoo

U.S. government expects five major banks to provide resolution plans, on top of "living wills", to resolve any future financial crisis they may face, as they will not receive any support from the government. Some comments on BAC as well. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-u-banks-told-plans-040356130.html;_ylt=AkUCDNGj5dI_BfTIlTABeMuiuYdG;_ylu=X3oDMTQzZTBkNzMxBG1pdANGaW5hbmNlIEZQIEp1bWJvdHJvbiBMaXRlBHBrZwM0OTEyNmVlYi0zNTBhLTNmMDQtYTQyMC0yYjc2ODAwNjk3MDcEcG9zAzEEc2VjA2p1bWJvdHJvbgR2ZXIDYjQ2NzI5OTAtZTJhMC0xMWUxLWJmOTUtOWFjMzExYThmNTU5;_ylg=X3oDMTFpNzk0NjhtBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25z;_ylv=3 For those investors avoiding U.S. financials, they are making a terrible mistake. These banks will be some of the best capitalized and prepared banks in the world in the last 30 years. Cheers!

LOL! I agree. But at the same time, it is somewhat easier to have everyone reply to one spreadsheet or message, rather than call them all up individually. Cheers!

If the stock is below tangible book, then buybacks make sense. If the stock starts to get closer to book, and most certainly if it is higher, then dividends would be the better choice. Cheers!

Correct! If you live high on the hog and get golden parachute pensions, then how the heck do you know what real folk are actually experiencing. Congress is the worst oversight committee you could think of to monitor any profit-making enterprise, let alone a break-even and hope we don't go broke enterprise like the USPS. And CONeal, I agree with you regarding Wednesday's instead of Saturdays. Either day works, but better yet, maybe cut out two days. God knows how much is now directly done online, by email, mobile phone or online banking. Alot of services the USPS offers no longer need six days a week service. They could afford it if they paid their employees $12 an hour like the banks, but they pay them double that, if not triple for senior employees...plus pension. Cheers!

More losses, and possibly a cash crunch without congressional approval. Time to sell the USPS? They should probably cut out Saturday mail delivery altogether, and wage reductions across the board would also be prudent. Cheers! http://www.cnbc.com/id/48590931

Interesting, but not particularly functional. None of those things would be useful for what I use spreadsheets for...putting together budgets, accounting statements, etc. The data in the video actually looks cluttered and not particuarly useful the way it was laid out. Cheers!

Ok, calling all boardmembers here! Especially those in and around British Columbia. As many of you know, one of the non-profits we support is "The Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of Canada". This year in Toronto, we raised $13,000 for the CCFC...thanks to all of those who donated and attended! Alison Obrecht, Chapter Development Coordinator For British Columbia, is spear-heading and coordinating the first ever fundraising gala in BC. The Toronto Gala raised over $1M in 2011! I've been asked to act as an honorary representative for the CCFC and help coordinate the BC event with her and raise funds. The Gala is set for November 22, 2012 at the Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle. Corner Market Capital has bought a table, and I encourage our boardmembers, especially those who live in and around BC, to try and attend. Individual tickets are $200 and tables are $2,000-2,500, with sponsorship all the way up to $15,000. They are also interested in any donations, including prizes for the auction. Everyone my age or older will also be happy to hear that Vancouver's own 54-40 is playing the Gala...one of Canada's best bands that disappeared too soon! Details for the Gala are below: http://www.kintera.org/site/c.4nJIJXPrEbKSE/b.7990773/k.DA83/2012_Vancouver_ICE_Gala__Home.htm I also thought that the event may be a good gathering place for local investors that I don't always get to meet up with. There are eight seats available on our table, for those that would like to join Alnesh and I, and discuss investing while eating great food and listening to good music. Those tickets are available like the regular tickets at our cost of $200 each. If you are interested in buying tickets on our table, or contributing in other ways, please contact me at cornermarketcapital@gmail.com. Cheers and thank you for your support! AllThatGlitters2012InviteNov.pdf

Greek default was $100B...who will take the hits in the restatements if you have counterparty liability of $1T? You have $20T+ in credit derivatives trading, no one knows exactly what the counterparty risk is and on what. Even $1T may not be the worst case scenario. Cheers!

In fact, all HFT firms are essentially in 100% cash at the end of each trading day. They aren't going to cause any six sigma event, let alone a three sigma event, given that they close out their positions very quickly. People forget that the cascading of the Flash Crash occurred due to a lack of liquidity (i.e. HFT disappearing) rather than due to the additional liquidity that HFT thankfully provides Volume is drying up everyday right now and I sure don't want to see what spreads would look like if HFT were to disappear. Be careful what you wish for. I believe HFT has aided most investors, including value investors, on a net basis. Again, you're both equating the trigger with the event. What I'm saying is that something more significant than the flash crash could create counterparty risk that is significantly greater (virtually dwarfing) the triggering event. Think of it in terms of the match to the stick of the dynamite...you can easily blow out the match, but what if the fuse is lit and you can't contain the ensuing explosion. Cheers!

This volatility is not the value investors best friend, this volatility is the type that could derail markets for months of not years and only end in disaster. I seriously doubt that - please prove it. If it did, though, it would provide tremendous opportunity to those who have a 4-6 year outlook as opposed to what is typical of most market participants. A once in a lifetime opportunity, in fact, for value investors out there - if something was to happen on the order of what you suggest. As Mr. Buffett has opined: "Only buy something that you'd be perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for 10 years." You're viewing it in too simplified a manner. You are correct that volatility is our friend, but at the same there are trillions of derivatives contracts being written that have counterparty liability for financial institutions insuring against that very same volatility. If you have a six-sigma event occur in the markets...be it equities, commodities, currencies, etc...some counterparty will be held liable for the ensuing risk. If you have a number of institutions that become liable for significant sums, you could see another event like Lehman's or Bear Stearns. The world cannot afford another calamity like that at the moment. Cheers!

Scary...very scary actually! Thanks. Cheers!

Article on how economy continues to slowly recover, with banking loan standards easing...a good thing for the economy. Cheers! http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-06/fed-says-banks-ease-standards-on-business-consumer-loans.html

Very cool! I'm constantly surprised by mankind just keeps innovating. Cheers!

The Fairfax Financial 2013 AGM is set for Thursday April 11th at Roy Thomson Hall. Naturally, our Fairfax Financial Shareholder's Dinner will be held the night before. Cheers! http://www.fairfax.ca/news/events-and-webcasts/default.aspx