Parsad

Rubbish! This was said before, and it gets regurgitated whenever the company takes a hit or the stock price has not moved. Thanks for not disappointing Stephen! And again, once we get above book value, and I've sold my shares...the excuses will come pouring out of how it was different this time for this reason, and how Fairfax got lucky or Prem pulled a rabbit out of the hat...etc, etc...blah, blah, blah. And then rinse and repeat! Cheers!

+1! OSTK looked like dead money for most of its life...but if you had bought 10 years ago...it's a 15-bagger. Cheers!

You're comparing a company that has barely any data on it...I can't even find financials for it or any investor related information from its website...to Fairfax, which has a ton of information on it. Geez!

This is silly Greg! Should all closed end funds close then too by selling all of their assets? What about Berkshire, which perpetually trades at a discount because of Buffett's age...should we put him out to pasture and sell all of Berkshire's assets? C'mon! Cheers!

This is a fallacy. The market never gets "tired" of something. There can be periods of stagnation, but over time, markets always reflect intrinsic value. There are always questions of a permanent "discount" at Berkshire Hathaway, yet the value keeps going up because the company generates cash. As long as Fairfax does the same over time, Mr. Market will not give a damn about Prem's behavior or Fairfax's complexity. Markel and Berkshire are as complex...no one talks about analysts not being able to understand them. Cheers!

History shows that stocks will close their discount to intrinsic value, or even premiums to intrinsic value...it's as powerful as gravity. Cheers!

I would normally agree with this sentiment, but the way they dismantled BABA, tore a new arsehole into Didi and beat down on Macau...something is different this time. They are also not pleased with Evergrande and the unrest it could create if the malaise spreads. Beijing is cleaning house and taking names! Cheers!

I dunno. Bitcoin and Ethereum have the same network effects that have benefitted Facebook and other tech cos. So did AOL and MySpace. And Bitcoin has survived 12 years and multiple 70-90% crashes. Something tells me it has staying power that AOL never had. Overstock has survived 20 years and multiple 70-90% crashes. It has staying power, but is far from the dominant player that AMZN is...which started at roughly the same time. What will crypto be like 10-20 years from now and who will be the dominant player? Don't know...but BTC has less than a 10% chance of being it. Cheers!

You may be right! I would suggest that blockchain is the internet while Bitcoin is AOL. Coinbase may or may not be LVLT. Cheers!

No...never could wrap my head around what was supporting crypto prices. I believe in digital currency and blockchain technology, but not this batch of craptocurrency. They are the AOL of digital currency! No one will remember them 20 years from now, and there won't even be collectibles since they are all digital! Cheers!

The Federal government's efforts to crackdown on crypto or find alternatives: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/explainer-u-regulators-cracking-down-152559798.html European Union's efforts: https://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/eu-to-ban-cryptocurrency-anonymity-in-anti-money-laundering-plan-1.4626129 UK: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/jun/27/uk-financial-watchdog-cracks-down-on-cryptocurrency-exchange-binance India: https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2021/05/14/banks-are-already-cracking-down-on-crypto-indian-traders-say/ Australia: https://www.accountantsdaily.com.au/tax-compliance/15797-crypto-crackdown-underway-as-ato-locks-in-data-matching-program Mexico: https://fortune.com/2021/06/29/banxico-mexico-bank-crypto-warning-billionaire-pliego-tweet/ That list will grow. Cheers!

No, not written by this Parsad, but Eswar Prasad...Cornell professor. Cheers! https://qz.com/2064043/cornell-professor-prasad-says-cash-will-be-obsolete-in-a-decade/?utm_source=YPL

They won't be the first country to ban or at least crack down on crypto. I think the death knell for some crypto is now occurring. It will be interesting to see how the underground economy for crypto was influencing or affecting other asset prices like real estate, luxury goods, etc. This guy managed to get $58M of crypto out just before the China announcement! Cheers! https://finance.yahoo.com/news/miner-cashes-1-366-btc-102712712.html

Very funny Sam Adams "Oktoberfest" commercial: Cheers!

Why do we spend so much time taking advice or at least seeking knowledge from those that suffer from deep inadequacies, failures and insecurities themselves? Anything that starts with "Five Habits..." or "The Seven Secrets..." is probably a waste of time. Peterson has showcased his inability to control drugs, money, etc. Just like I'm not going to listen to Oprah about Weight Watchers, I'm not about to listen to Peterson about an all-meat diet. They are two of the same...cut from the same cloth, but different ends of the spectrum...opportunists, who shill themselves as self-help gurus, but suffer the same angst, anxieties, problems and insecurities that everyone else does. Rubbish! I learn more about what is important in life from my six-year old nephew. Amazing how enlightened children really are! Cheers!

Like Francis Chou, another good friend of mine, Andrew Wilkinson who founded Metalabs, has developed his own wealth creation vehicles: One is Tiny Corp (https://www.tinycapital.com/), which acquire digital/non-digital businesses utilizing a fundamental analysis approach not dissimilar to Mohnish's unsuccessful idea from over 20 years ago...Digital Disruptors. Andrew is slowly building up a treasure of businesses, and in my opinion will be the wealthiest person in the city of Victoria one day, if not British Columbia. He's young, ambitious, driven, extremely talented, a contrarian and executes flawlessly on his ideas. His second vehicle is We Commerce (WE.V) which monetized a number of Shopify-related companies he owned and they are looking to develop/acquire more of these businesses under WE. Again, he has succeeded in an old idea of applying fundamental analysis to the technology business and is succeeding. I've never seen someone acquire businesses (big or small) in such rapid succession, and he has the cash flow to continue doing so. As fast as his development has been, he shows immense patience...he's been trying to develop these vehicles for years, doing substantial research and ground work...then finally launching. What's fascinating about Andrew, is that he has that Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk moxy. He will make money in good times or bad times, whereas many of us distressed value investors will sit on cash when valuations get high. Andrew just mints money...period! Another great long-term case study. Cheers!

I thought I would give this a separate long-term thread to follow. Francis has done a remarkable job with Stonetrust Insurance after acquiring it from Dhandho (Mohnish Pabrai), and it is essentially his long-term vehicle to grow his wealth. A handful of investors joined initially, and if we're lucky, one day it may be a public company accessible to all, but for now it is an interesting case study. Attached is Wintaai's (parent company of Stonetrust) 2020 Annual Letter and 2021 Semi-Annual report. Cheers! Wintaai Financial Highlight (June 2021).pdf Wintaai Letter 2020 (Final).pdf

Spekulatius...are you and I the only die-hard South Park fans on here? Cheers!

Feel free to discuss these various areas that B of A identified as possible future moonshots in tech. Cheers! https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bofa-identifies-tech-moonshots-catch-155524237.html

Fairfax had their concerns about China's housing bubble a few years ago, which seems to have fallen by the wayside as the world was worried about Covid, but is China's housing bubble finally cracking? They've long played the hide the battered developer game, but are some of the developers just too big to hide. Cheers! https://finance.yahoo.com/news/china-property-market-runs-steam-143429278.html https://www.barrons.com/articles/why-china-could-seek-controlled-detonation-for-troubled-developer-evergrande-51631577210?siteid=yhoof2

Will look for a plug-in that allows you guys to change your screen appearance as you wish. Cheers!

You should be able to find Fever Tree in Trader Joes and Whole Foods as well. The tonics are great...try the Fever Tree ginger beer with rum or in mojitos...terrific! Use half of the ginger beer and half of the tonic, otherwise it might be too sweet. Cheers!

After several months of testing the subscription based model, I've decided to go back to the old lifetime membership model. This will go into effect as soon as Watermelon Webworks makes the change. The one-time fee will be $49.99 going forward for a lifetime membership. Those grandfathered will not have to pay anything...just keep using as usual. For those that have paid since we switched over formats...your monthly or annual charges will be terminated and you will be automatically grandfathered in without any further fees. Because we are moving back to the old format, two other changes: The Investment Ideas board is now only for member use. It will not be visible to the general public. I think we've put together a pretty fantastic database of posts that is continuously updated on hundreds and hundreds of stocks...so if people want access to it, they will have to join. We've also added a Wealth Advisory & Financial Management board. It is member use only as well. It is for those in the industry to share experiences and for those that want to join the industry to learn more. If you share any client experiences, please ensure you do not use names or client details, as those posts will be immediately deleted and you will be given a warning before future acts lead to membership cancellation. Cheers! Sanjeev

I always cry when I hear U.S. liquor prices. I miss being able to cross the border for 48 hours to save like 40% on a bottle of just about anything! And my God, your wine prices...U.S. wines in U.S. grocery stores are 50-70% cheaper than the same U.S. wine in Canadian liquor stores. Cheers!

Fireball! What the heck! Friday night drink at my place!