Parsad

They are required to follow all of the same building guidelines in terms of structure, construction, etc. They aren't taking shortcuts on the actual construction. It's the extensive permitting process and approval timelines that they don't have to go through...that process is also being reviewed for approval and applied to other developers as well. The permitting and approval process in BC is very onerous in most cities. Many of Vancouver's suburbs are separate jurisdictions and each has their own timeline and process...which drags out basic building permits and approvals for up to 2 years in some places...usually 6 months plus for the most part depending on the city and project...but it is all over the place. Carrying costs, permitting/legal costs/etc all add to the cost of development and lead to higher than necessary retail/market prices for homes in BC. Speeding up this process is something all developers would like to see. Cheers!

Our universe is much smaller than his. When markets are down 7-10% like they are now...some stocks we can buy are down 30-40%...whereas they would be far too tiny for him to even buy 100% of. Everything I've bought in the last month is down at least 20%...a couple are down 50%! Cheers!

Yes, that is the main concern right now...the uncertainty until settlements. Many want the government to amend/repeal the current DRIPA (Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People) that was adopted by this current Premier when he was Attorney General. That may create other lawsuits by the aboriginal and more problems. Yes, that is happening...the first three towers are nearly complete. But it was a aboriginal/private enterprise. The original developer ran into financial difficulties and a pension fund came in and bought them out. It's no different than any other public/private or private/private project. Just aboriginal groups are involved as one of the main partners. I can't speak about the price for soft-wood lumber...nothing has been disclosed like that, nor have I seen any investigative articles suggesting that. You hear about private businesses doing stupid things, I wouldn't be surprised if some aboriginal groups are doing the same. In terms of the current government...depends on which party is in power. The NDP are hard-core, left-wing liberals...they have power. If the Liberals (not really) or Conservatives get power, the government moves centre-right or hard-right and policies/agendas change. Right now, it doesn't look good at all for the NDP...this Premier is polling as low as Trump! Problem is he just got elected a year ago and the next Provincial election isn't until October 2028! He's also running massive spending deficits which are devastating for the province. The only way to remove him would be a non-confidence vote by the BC Parliament or his own NDP members. Highly unlikely to happen! They have stakes in public mineral/resource companies that are listed...but haven't listed anything solely by themselves yet that I have noticed. I might not just be aware of it, since I don't invest in the resource space much. Most of their projects are aboriginal/private or aboriginal/public projects...primarily housing related, pipeline/resource, etc. Lately though, different aboriginal groups have taken a page from their American brethren and bought up 8 large casinos around British Columbia from Great Canadian Casinos. All in rapid succession! Collectively, they may be the largest casino operators in Canada now! Cheers!

In all honesty, I don't think Thiel is completely wrong here either. I 100% believe that generational wealth is one of the worst sins committed by the rich, but foundational giving is also not always effective. In many cases, it tends to be massive small donations with very insignificant net results at the end...feed a man a fish. Now if they make concentrated bets in effective programs/research/etc, then the net result may be more effective. Last year here in Vancouver, 11 people were killed by a mentally unstable driver at the Filipino "Lapu Lapu Day" festival. Dozens were injured severely as well! $1.5M was donated to United Way with much of it to go to victims. So far less than $70K has reached the actual victims. Over $400K was donated to 40+ different other organizations. Over $40K was donated just on a dozen "healing circles" within those 40+ organizations...what the eff?! Healing circles! Really! And that's just a miniscule portion of the money that flows through non-profits like United Way and so many more. I'm 100% behind the Giving Pledge...I just hope the way they utilize the funds is far more effective than the traditional methods of non-profit giving. It's a unique pledge, hopefully the outcomes are unique as well! On another note...the sheer amount of damage Gates has done on a personal/business/philanthropic level now because of his association with Epstein is completely stunning! One of the greatest collapses of reputation and the repercussions from it...just crazy. The ripples keep drifting across the lake! Cheers!

While I hold large amounts of cash in my trading accounts when I can't find anything, I'm generally heavily invested in any crisis. For example, I had 60% cash in my trading account a month ago...it is 90% invested now. My other non-trading/tax-sheltered accounts had maybe 30% cash...they have about 10% now. And if prices fall further, I will sell more expensive assets to buy cheaper assets. So the behavior is not incongruous to what Buffett says...just the timing of when I find opportunity and put capital to work. I don't just hold an asset regardless of valuation in the trading accounts. This is the fallacy of people who hold cash...that they never put it to work. That's the opposite of what I do. Cheers!

There may be hope for all us after all! Except when it's US versus Canada! Cheers!

The people whose land the Cowichan ruling in the Richmond area directly affected are very worried. Even banks are putting in caveats in mortgage renewals, appraisers are putting valuation qualifications in their reports, etc, on those pieces of private property. BC is one of the few, if not only province, that never put treaties into place decades ago. Ontario, Quebec, etc don't have this problem. These land claims should have been settled under treaties a long time ago. Instead the aboriginal nations have rightful claims against lands in BC. At the same time, they also know that will never work. They cannot go after private property in city/populated regions. They are going to go after other large open land seeking extensive fishing, mineral, property rights to control that land with minimal provincial influence. They will probably also get ownership of some city/populated land controlled/owned by the province. At the end of the day, they will get a nice fat settlement/land/rights to help their nations, while doing the least damage possible on private property rights. This has how previous BC settlements have been made. That being said, the ruling is powerful. It could remain in court for decades again if the province decides to fight it. But this current provincial administration is very aboriginal friendly, and will probably put amendments in any settlement agreement into place to protect private property rights, while giving an overall really fat settlement in other areas. Overall, most people other than the immediately affected and the political parties aren't panicking over it. But with nothing settled yet, real estate involved (banks, mortgages, appraisers, legal) are making some changes in behavior/documentation. The aboriginal nations in BC are very well-organized and well=funded now. They have the means to fight through the legal system, have access to both large amounts of private/public capital for projects, development, etc and have powerful resource rights. No teepee on reservations any longer...aboriginal groups have learned very well about capitalism, public/private partnerships, private equity, etc. They want what is coming to them, settle this and move forward...that is the same thing non-aboriginals want as well, protecting their homes, businesses, cottages, etc. It would make sense to come to a reasonable compromise, settle these things and get them out of everyone's hands where if the wrong person decides to make hay, it could get ugly in the future. Better everyone walks away happy and a little bit unhappy in a nice negotiated settlement. Cheers!

https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/iran-war-us-israel-trump-03-21-26 Trump threatening to blow up Iran's power plants in next 48 hours. Also sending ICE Agents to airports. This guy likes to take big fucking risks! Major gambler...big risks...big bets...big successes...big blowups! That last one worries me! Cheers!

Ah...Iraq taking over Kuwait! Two days! Cheers!

Yes, it would actually probably flip votes. But he cannot do it without ground troops going in. Some of the old school GOP would flip out and more Americans would be against it. And even if troops went in, they would then be there for years until elections are done, new leadership installed, rebuilding of infrastructure, etc. What he needed was a quick, clean victory with regime change using firepower and pressure...a bold win...fast and easy! There is nothing easy about this. Cheers!

Greg...that is something you and I agree 110% on! Cheers!

It's been good...but far from flawless. Otherwise, it would have been over after the first "mission accomplished", then after the "first day" after Trump said they won, and almost certainly by now considering how much U.S. "firepower" is doing based on your opinion. Yet, none of those three scenarios have proven a winner yet! Cheers!

That would be a self-inflicted wound to the U.S. as well, as gas prices globally would go further through the roof. There is no real victor here except some sort of peaceful resolution to keep oil flowing, the Strait open and open inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities. I think regime change will be difficult without Trump cutting his own throat before mid-terms because they are entrenched and targeted bombs won't do it. That's also why he has to keep some sort of leash on Bibi now too because Bibi wants to go for the jugular...but that can't happen! Cheers!

Yup. But I think a lot of people will feel the same way when Trump passes as well. You reap what you sow! Cheers!

A little over a month ago, a teenage hockey player in Providence, RI lost his Mom, brother and grandfather to a shooting by another family member in his team's hockey arena. The team, community and town rallied around the young player. He went on to score the winning goal to send his team to the State Championship! Everyone knew what it meant to him and the community! This week, he scored the double overtime goal to help his team win the State Championship! Amazing! Cheers!

No, you aren't as bad as others. You get more vociferous and accusatory than anything bigoted. I have to make sure you don't make others cry! Cheers!

All "investing" is actually "value investing". If you aren't looking for value or in particular "margin of safety", then you are not actually investing...you are speculating...assuming that someone will pay more for something without knowing its intrinsic value...gold, crypto, etc. Only by examining the cash flows of a business over its lifetime or examining a balance sheet in a liquidation, can you come to any real conclusion of what intrinsic value is...in the future or in the present. AMZN today is a very mature business with much more definable cash flows...it is easy to view it similarly to a bond now. In the early days of AMZN, God it was running massive losses and EBITDA (not the best measurement, but is widely used) was all over the place. You could not get a read on the company. I remember Buffett saying back in like 2003-2004 that AMZN would eventually be profitable...even though I couldn't see it...but he never invested. People think when he said he didn't understand technology, he was referring to the entire industry. But all he meant was that the cash flows at the time were not definable over time, because the businesses were still growing rapidly and so much was being reinvested at a rapid rate into new and existing operations. Would they get back at least a dollar for every dollar spent? Hard to know for many younger tech companies. But those same young companies are all the mature, massively cash-flowing businesses we see today and make up most of the Mag7! Cheers!

Yes, that is true. Holding cash for investment is different than just holding accessible cash. Both need better returns, but the duration of investment is markedly different, so you take a different approach to both. As you said, they are not the same. Cheers!

By the way, Lotsofcoke has known Buffett probably longer than almost anyone on this message board, even though he's only about as old as me. Lotsofcoke, how old were you the first time you went to Omaha? Also, he co-founded the Yellow BRK'ers and had one of three yellow hats! They would go to Buffett's office every year with a birthday cake for him to cut! Cheers!

I responded to ourkid8 before you did. Go back to almost every agitating post and I've probably spoken up before most or when it was brought to my attention. Cheers!

They get it from Fox, Newsmax, NY Post, Twitter and Truth Social. You get it from CNN, MSNBC, NY Times, Facebook and Instagram. No overlap! Cheers!

It might not have been a long-term solution, but depending on the outcome and fallout, this one might not be the outcome everyone wants as well, if it all goes to smoke in a fiery fireball of wells and tankers and we see $200 oil! Cheers!

I call it out more than anyone else on here. I think you are among the culpable that keep pushing the agenda from one side or another. Cheers!

That is one of the biggest fallacies in "value" investing, because Buffett and John Bogle espoused for small investors to always be invested. But if you go back to Ben Graham, you first have to locate enough ideas to fill your portfolio. Most investors don't have the time to do that, so they default to index funds or buy large amounts of just 2 or 3 stocks like Berkshire, Fairfax, similar industries, etc. That probably creates less than desirable results and often correlated risk because people tend to buy more in a specific, distressed industry with similar economics. Cheers!

Oh, definitely not easy...you remember the amount of 10-Q's and 10-K's we were reading on the old Motley Fool BRK Board and on the old MSN COBF Message Board. I've easily read 8,000-10,000 financial statements over the years! Don't know how many discount cash flows I've done or broken down balance sheet assets. Geez, I'm a self-taught accountant catching CPA and auditor mistakes these days! Crazy! Cheers!