Parsad

I find myself in almost the same position of twacowfca. And I am doing nothing (except watching Wimbledon and listening to the new Kanye West’s album). :) giofranchi Pretty much the same here as well. I've seen quite a few movies over the last two months...only the last week have I found something to start looking at again. Also busy with getting the Offshore fund off the ground...will launch August 1st! I would be watching Wimbledon as well, but my man Nadal went out in the 1st round. Now I won't watch until the round of 16. If anyone is looking for a good theatre movie to watch..."This is The End" is very funny...raunchy, juvenile humor, with some great writing. If you are looking for a good sci-fi film, watch "Looper"...excellent movie, wonderful acting! Cheers!

That's not really the problem. Most of the people running the juniors are in it for themselves. And many of them don't even have mining backgrounds. The people running the hot Internet companies- Facebook, Groupon, Amazon, Webvan, Pets.com, etc.- are actually trying to make you money. The valuations might be dopey but at least they're not corrupt. Very few of the juniors out there are trying to make money for shareholders. The level of corruption there is absurd. I would say the ratio is 1:1 or 2:1 at best. For every legitimate company, there is another one that is simply being run to raise funds from shareholders and used as a piggy bank by the founders and promoters. Cheers!

I'm less concerned about Cook's message to Wall Street, than I am to his employees. If there is discontent or low morale, then the leader needs to step up and improve it. Outside of the dividend and share buyback, I'm quite disappointed with what I've seen from Apple. No great new products, watching competitors strengthen their brand and product line, negative morale with employees, lack luster product events...September better be a show-stopper! Cheers!

I think their child may be the anti-Christ! If the U.S. ever faces its demise like Greece, Rome or the British Empire, it will sprout from the loins of the Kardashians! ;D Cheers!

I'm not looking to invest in one, but take one over for the cash...there are many that are stuck between closing shop and the difficulties of finding financing for exploration. I'm more than happy to take over one that is well under net cash. If there is any value in the property, then that is just icing on the cake. I don't plan on running a mining company, but dismantling it and using the cash for other things. Cheers!

Both quotes above are correct. Everything at some price has value relative to its intrinsic value. We've never invested in commodity companies until Sandridge earlier this year, and now I find myself digging through junior mining companies. Never say never, because worlds collide when industries fall in value investing. Cheers!

No, only about 5% of it into something we like. I was hoping we'd see at least a week long market meltdown...no such luck. Maybe next week! ;D Cheers!

Watch a movie...watch game 6 & 7 of the NBA finals...go on a vacation...sleep...hang out with family or friends...go play tennis...hold a garage sale...lots of things you can do! In other words, live an actual life. ;D If you want to stay on the investment track, something I do during periods like the last few weeks, is I'll spend more time reading books that I need to catch up on, because I'm usually too busy looking for ideas or doing administrative stuff with the funds. I would much prefer days like Wednesday and Thursday though. I get giddy when I see markets tumble. Cheers!

I agree they should continue to tighten the capital levels. Doubling may be too high as it would stifle lending for a few years, but continuing to increase capital levels in my opinion is a good idea. Cheers! http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-21/u-s-weighs-doubling-leverage-standard-for-biggest-banks.html

Hi Hyten, Bass isn't saying that the debt is any worse than personal debt. What he is saying is when do the lenders call the loan or ask for a greater risk premium through the bond yield? So in your example, what if the bank decided that the mortgage is not fixed, but variable, and that they were changing the interest rate? It's not that the family would necessarily have to sell the house, but there would naturally be repercussions to them trying to maintain the house and mortgage...either through selling the family car and jewels (Japanese asset sales), another job (greater taxes for the Japanese), buy less groceries and other goods (lower purchasing power) or tap into savings (reductions in pension plans, other benefits). There is always a cost to every decision, and I think that is the main argument for Bass...Japan, among others, will have to finally pay the piper at some point. Cheers!

I don't know if Bass will be right, but the logic and rationality of his argument is correct in my opinion. Not only with Japan, but Europe, European banks and even to some extent the U.S.' ability to repay their obligations. I don't know what the outcome will be, but I can see that the risks relative to the risk premium provided in most investments is not adequate, and it is very concerning. Nearly as concerning as 2007, but a lot of the leverage in the United States has been mitigated...on a corporate level. This has not happened in Europe...nor China! Buy something if you think the risk premium is adequate, otherwise be patient...premiums always rise at some point...spreads widen...good investments at great prices will eventually become available. If Charlie Munger is not certain of the outcome of this grand experiment, how can any of us be confident in the end result? Cheers!

Some of the other scholarships offered by Fairfax: - Dalhousie (Nova Scotia) - UVIC (another BC connection) - $5,000 - Red River College (Manitoba) - $3,500 - University of Toronto (Ontario) - University of Alberta (Alberta) - $5,000 - Association of Universities & Colleges of Canada - up to 60 $3,500 scholarships granted each year (not sure if it includes the other scholarships) Wonderful! Cheers!

I always thought Prem must have some sort of special affinity for British Columbia, since his "Sixty Three" holding company was registered in BC many years ago. I have to ask him exactly what his reasons for doing so were next time I see him. Anyway, imagine my surprise, or lack of surprise, that Fairfax has established two $3,500 scholarships at BC's own Douglas College! He must have a soft-spot for our rainforests or Kokanee beer! ;D Kudos Prem and Fairfax! Cheers! http://www.douglas.bc.ca/__shared/assets/fairfaxfinancialentranceaward89534.pdf

Fantastic presentation! I wish I could see the slides. Cheers!

I was in Omaha the weekend this interview was broadcast, so I had not seen it till now, but I'm going to miss Munger when he's gone...as well as Buffett! Two irreplaceable gems! Great interview by Becky Quick as well. Cheers! http://www.cnbc.com/id/100707283

What non-essential item do people continue to buy right up to their last nickel? That isn't a rhetorical question, because I don't know. I don't believe there is anything anymore that people will spend their last nickel on. At one time I would have said a mortgage, but that obviously isn't true any longer. Water. Cheers!

Probably best to wait for any press releases. People could have left for personal reasons, new opportunities or a change in company direction. Better not to speculate. Cheers!

Good presentation! Cheers!

I will never forget his promotional tirade during the Berkshire meeting. He got the chance to ask Buffett anything he could possibly want and Kass decided to asked him for money in some veiled bet. Buffett's response was pretty good too..."Not gonna happen!" The crowd roared in laughter. Cheers!

Anyone know who the "rogue" tweeter that Cramer refers to is? Is it someone well known? Cheers! http://www.cnbc.com/id/100821025

Yes, yes, we should all ignore macroeconomic factors, but what would be the repercussions of this bubble popping. Food for thought, anyways. Cheers! http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-28/china-credit-bubble-call-pits-fitch-s-chu-against-s-p.html

Tick, tick, tick...getting mighty close! Cheers! http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-14/detroit-on-bankruptcy-s-brink-stops-paying-some-debts-orr-says.html http://www.cnbc.com/id/100817728

Fool.com article on Fairfax and Power Corp. Cheers! http://beta.fool.com/whichstockswork/2013/06/14/canadas-versions-of-berkshire-hathaway/37148/?source=eogyholnk0000001

You've got to keep these types of posts to the "General Discussion" board. If the title isn't specific to a single stock, it doesn't belong in the "Investment Ideas" board. Cheers!

New catastrophe loss disclosures in the future. Cheers! http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-13/berkshire-adds-disclosure-on-insurance-losses-after-sec-pressure.html?cmpid=yhoo