Parsad

What about Markel and Leucadia? Tom Gaynor handles investments and Steve Markel handles insurance. Ian Cummings and Joe Steinberg have worked together for a long time, and they are one of the rare exceptions. I would still bet that one makes more of the calls than the other. It's a tough business to work as a team, because when things go wrong, there is always some second-guessing. Barely anyone can come to a consensus on this message board on any single idea, so if your livelihood and reputation are on the line, it becomes even more difficult having confidence in someone else's decision when running a fund or company. Cheers!

Buffett Munger? If anyone thinks that Munger calls the shots at Berkshire, they are mistaken. It's all Buffett. Munger is a sounding board. Prem has the final say at Fairfax. Mohnish calls all his own shots. Tim McElvaine has the final say. Francis Chou has the only and final say. Larry Sarbit was really a one man show. I call the shots here. There are some teams out there that work well together, but usually it is one guy who makes the call. Cheers!

Good stuff! I actually really like the u-pick idea with the wife and kids. I'm sure the children find it neat to pick something off the bush and then eat it. Teaches them a bunch of different things. Cheers!

Very nominal increases other than for Capital One. You have to look at the underlying credit quality of the borrowers. If you don't see significant increases at American Express on one end of the spectrum, and you see nominal increase at Bank of America, I would guess that the spike at Capital One is solely based on the credit quality of their borrowers. Cheers!

Big deal! Now you have the guy running the fund who started it, and was responsible for all of its early success. I think this may be a good thing. Managers like Berkowitz (stubbornly analytical and confident) should not work with other managers. They are best as loners. Cheers!

Smallcap, what's your trick with the food budget? Do you grow some of your own produce? Mostly homecooked meals? That's pretty darn good for a couple and two hungry little kids. Cheers!

I agree that fat makes it taste better. Health concerns aside, sugar adds flavor to candy. My father grew up with bread fried in bacon grease -- it also improved the flavor. For some reason if the animal is slaughtered with all the fat already on it we think of it differently than, say, just soaking toast in it. Could you imagine if people were forced to consciously ask for more fat trimmings to be added to their lean grass-fed beef. I doubt they would do it. I mean, you can always ask for extra butter on your fish. Do you? It's more expensive in Australia to buy the marbled feedlot beef. True! They don't have a huge corn industry. So most of the beef is pastured, grass fed beef (and healthier). Mmmm...Bacon! Twenty years ago, so many people would eat bacon and eggs for breakfast almost every other day...some still do! I have bacon maybe only three times a year...usually holiday mornings (Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter) for breakfast. Otherwise, I don't really eat bacon, even though I love the damn stuff. Now marbled beef is something else. How could you not love the flavour. Small portions once in a while is perfectly fine. Now if I could only get rid of my addiction for good burgers! ;D Cheers!

I wonder about all that farmland dedicated to growing food for the livestock -- does it drive up the price of fresh produce? Would you grow corn without the subsidy? Or would you be growing a higher sticker price item? In other words, would the price of fresh produce be boosted by scarcity of arable land? Ten calories of grain expended per calorie of meat produced. No, not really. There have been massive, and I mean massive, improvements in farming over the last 20 years, let alone the last 50 years. With certain products used for biofuels, animal feed, etc, the cost to consumers is driven up somewhat, but for the most part, U.S. farmers have been getting incredible amounts of productivity from the land presently in use for farming. The subsidies for certain goods certainly drive some farmers to certain goods, but for the most part, they still make up a relatively small percentage of all farmland. The increase cost in fruits and vegetables has been occurring since the price of oil increased over the last two years. You guys have had a spike in the price per gallon in the last six months, and it takes about another 2-3 months for that to trickle down to consumer prices. Increased fuel costs, increase the cost of transport of the fruits and vegetables, and that shows up in the price as you know. Cheers!

Wait, did you just tell us that your wife is choking your chicken? In front of the KIDS?! ;) That's just wrong! Just wrong! ;D Cheers!

I would much rather pass on Paul's frugality and morals to my children, then anybody elses. The fact that he enjoys his life, is comfortable with what he has, and is working towards making something more, is a lesson for much of that 99% out there. By the way, I think Given is just jealous, because he knows how good Mom's cooking can be! ;D Cheers!

Paul, that's pretty funny! Cheers!

This would be a big step forward for both the government and banks. I suspect the deal will get done soon, and this should bolster large bank stock prices a little more, as this large piece of litigation gets cleared away. Should also set the precedent for other litigation and clear the way for more reasonable settlements. Cheers! http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Foreclosure-deal-near-as-rb-1590965141.html?x=0&.v=4

Screw Sarah Palin and her hunting with a gun! Eric, your wife should run in 2012. ;D Cheers!

Parsad you missed the most exciting thing at the Beverly Wilshire: CUT By Wolfgang Puck. It is the only 2 star Michelin Steakhouse in the world! Menu: http://www.wolfgangpuck.com/content/files/foodmenu_CUT%20MENU%20WEB%20Spring.pdf Enjoy! I'll go next time. We had an extravagant birthday brunch for my Mom's 60th at The Blvd downstairs, with a beautiful cake and everything. The hotel was so busy that weekend because the Emmy Awards were on, and there were limos everywhere in their driveway. Saw Seth Meyers from Saturday Night Live. Tons of good looking women in their gowns everywhere! We had a great time, food was great, and the service is always terrific. Whenever I'm in LA, I always go for breakfast or lunch there. Not pretentious, food is good and the service is excellent. Cheers!

Fantastic Post! I love truffles! Truffles aren't bad for you...just expensive! I love them in my mushroom risotto! I had a fantastic mushroom and chorizo omlette with black truffles at the Beverly Wilshire a few weeks ago as well. Eric, after reading this, how could you become a vegan? ;D Cheers!

I agree Frank! Life's too short not to enjoy what it has to offer some times. Cheers!

I should get a discount from my health insurer. Either that or Coca Cola should pay the health insurance for the people they're killing instead of my subsidizing them -- talk about external costs. I suspect that something of that nature will come to pass within the next 10 years. Probably greater taxes on fast food and packaged foods, supposedly redirected to offset medical costs, but somehow find their way into the general expenditure coffer! By the way, this whole fast food and soft drinks are killing our children thing falls into the NRA philosophy: Guns don't kill people, people kill people...so Coca-cola doesn't kill people, but bad habits kill people. They shouldn't tax fast food or soft drink manufacturers, just force them to limit portion sizes. Cheers!

My wife does the shopping and insists on as much organic as possible. I'm in the Washington DC area. You are definitely getting a lot for your money. Unfortunately (for me) much of ours comes from Whole Foods as she says that the regular stores don't have as wide a selection of organic produce and other foods. Personally I find much of the organic foods lacking in, shall we say, tasting good, but I'm told that I need to be healthy and that I'm lucky someone is looking out for me and making sure I eat good. Yeah, that will do it! ;D I remember Alnesh's ex-wife shopping at Whole Foods all the time, and he couldn't figure out how she could spend $1,100/month on groceries for 3 people! I told him, I don't think my 5-year old niece eats that much does she? Cheers!

I wouldn't be surprised to see zh hedge fold up shop next year. or at least dissapear into insignificance. the doom and gloomers will be looking for work after it is examined just how wrongly they advised investors in 2011. Not going to happen. He gets 17M page views a month...that's about $30K a month in ad revenue if he wants it. They'll just find other topics to cover. There's always something to write about. Cheers!

If they can get the fiscal side of the Euro-zone unified...constitutionally...then members would be far better off staying within the zone. That means one central fiscal body that implements measures to rectify deficiencies in the future. Tough to pass, but if it did, it would truly make for a substitute currency for the U.S. dollar. At least until some of the Asian countries form such a union...but far less likely to happen due to political differences. Cheers!

Good habits! Cheers!

I agree to each his own, but those that are spending these ridiculously low amounts on food obviously don't have children or anyone in the house that like there to be edible things around. My kids like avocados and those are at least $2 or more each. That would blow the $2 a day budget without anything else being consumed or anyone else in the house eating. We don't eat extravagantly by any means, but just to eat out at a Friday's or something is $40-50 with the kids. Are you buying organic avocadoes and where are you buying them from? Where do you live as well. I love avocadoes and I can usually buy five for $2.98 at Loblaws (Real Canadian Superstore). Usually the organic ones are five for $4.98. I don't spend more than $30 a week on produce and for that I get bananas, asian pears, grapes, onions, garlic, ginger, avocadoes, celery, carrots, potatoes, fresh pineapple, cantaloupe, tomatoes, cilantro, green onions, romaine lettuce, jalapeno peppers and baby bok-choy...every week! Naturally, I don't buy something if I still have some, so I usually get far more variety than I've stated above. And that's going to Loblaws. If you go to some ethnic or family produce stores, you can cut the cost by a third. Cheers!

To each his own. I think if StahleyP can do that, the more power to him. I spend about $400 a month on groceries and you should see my fridge, pantry and stock of non-food items. I buy tons of fruits, veggies, nuts, grains, rice, flour, meat, extra-virgin olive oil, pastas, baked goods, packaged and unpackaged goods, toiletries, etc. Whatever you want to eat, I have it or can make it for you in my house! What I spend $400 on, most people would spend $700-1000 on every month. I buy a Starbucks coffee (usually brewed, not a big fan of the mixed drinks) every single day I go to the office, as well as a breakfast sandwich, wrap, bagel or muffin. But I almost always brown bag lunch, as I like to be at my desk until after the market close. I eat out in the evenings maybe 3-6 times a month, and the places range from dirt cheap to upper mid-price. I've been that way ever since my Dad died 21 years ago, and I started doing all the grocery shopping. No extreme-couponer, but I do read grocery flyers cover to cover, and use coupons when readily available on a weekly basis. Don't need to, but it's become a habit after all these years, and I'm always looking for a bargain! It's the same sort of high you get finding an undervalued investment. Cheers!

Leon Cooperman is buying stocks, does not believe the U.S. will see a double-dip and is staying away from treasuries. Cheers! http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-18/cooperman-says-u-s-will-avoid-recession-stocks-appealing-1-.html

While slower than people would like, and the credit requirements are very high, banks are lending to qualified borrowers. http://www.cnbc.com/id/44944405 I think three years from now, you are going to see one of the strongest loan portfolios in the last 50 years in U.S. banks. Cheers!