Parsad

One of our local newcasts did a three-part story on Vancouver billionaire Jimmy Pattison, and his second in command, former British Columbia premier Glen Clark. Both grew up in the working class neighbourhood of East Vancouver, and Clark still lives there to this day. I've always thought for a long-time that Pattison is probably the closest thing to Warren Buffett Canada has in terms of buying businesses. He started out as a car salesman and now has businesses as diverse as grocery stores, magazine distribution, neon/sign production, billboards and even "Ripley's Believe It or Not" & "Guiness Records"...businesses that he understands, and that he picks up or develops when they are cheap and out of favor. Pattison is very good friends with Buffett, and has the same common sense mentality, gift with numbers, work ethic and charm. A friend of mine ran Pattison's Neon Products division for many years, and he told me a bunch of great stories about him. I also picked up one of his habits...Pattison always eats lunch at his desk, so that he doesn't waste any time during the middle of the day...he'll even brown bag it, or just get a bowl of soup and crackers. Enjoy! Cheers! http://www.globaltvbc.com/exclusive+video/6442549010/story.html

Still looking very, very strong. Cheers! http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-05/north-american-rail-freight-carloads-for-dec-31-table-.html?cmpid=yhoo

Perhaps a song while playing the ukelele? ;D Cheers! http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-05/buffett-to-sing-on-china-lunar-new-year-show-xinhua-reports.html?cmpid=yhoo

Hi Folks, Just a couple of updates on the dinner. 1) Since only a couple of people have bought the single seat, no dinner tickets, I don't want them to be sitting by themselves in the back. Instead, those that have bought dinner and those that have not will just have different color nametags, but everyone will sit together on the round banquet tables. 2) We are about 50% sold already, so please finalize your plans and buy your tickets in the next few weeks, as we will probably be sold out by March/April. Cheers!

Hi Folks, Just a couple of updates on the dinner. 1) Since only a couple of people have bought the single seat, no dinner tickets, I don't want them to be sitting by themselves in the back. Instead, those that have bought dinner and those that have not will just have different color nametags, but everyone will sit together on the round banquet tables. 2) We are about 50% sold already, so please finalize your plans and buy your tickets in the next few weeks, as we will probably be sold out by March/April. Cheers!

I think shareholders have to also understand that most of the senior management, as well as many other employees, have alot of their personal fortune tied to the company. The dividend was implemented originally, so as to allow employees to garner some income from their shares without having to sell any. I suspect that as many of these senior employees contemplate retirement, the last thing they would want to do is ever sell their Fairfax shares, but at the same time, they would like to continue to receive some sort of residual during retirement. Prem also has alot of charitable endeavours that he supports, but naturally would not want to sell his shares to maintain his philanthropic efforts. The dividend is a way to retain their ownership, while benefitting other aspects of their lives. I think shareholders have to resign themselves to that fact, as Fairfax will continue to maintain this balance between a modest dividend, opportunistic share buybacks and reinvestment of excess capital. Cheers!

You can say alot of things about Google, but at least you have to say they are fair with their own rules. They are demoting the ranking of Chrome after paid bloggers promoting the browser went afoul of their rules. Cheers! http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-03/google-denies-authorizing-bloggers-to-promote-chrome-browser.html

Probably none, as none of us have a shot anyway! ;D Cheers!

Katy Perry is single again! ;D Cheers! http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/30/russell-brand-katy-perry-end-marriage/?hpt=hp_t3

Hi Hudsonguy, Welcome to the board! I think if you ask anyone on this board who has attended the dinner or the AGM, you will thoroughly enjoy both events. See you there! Cheers!

You'll probably see some of the European nations doing the same thing. Cheers! http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-29/japan-ruling-party-reaches-agreement-on-doubling-sales-tax-to-10-by-2015.html

Article in today's Globe & Mail on Sears and Lampert. Cheers! http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/breaking-views/its-time-for-sears-chairman-to-admit-defeat/article2285274/

Article on Sequoia. Cheers! http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-29/cutting-buffett-helps-sequoia-fund-top-value-investor-rankings.html

Continue to surprise. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-29/north-american-rail-freight-carloads-for-dec-24-table-.html?cmpid=yhoo Cheers!

About 40% sold on the buffet tickets already. If you have not bought, you should do so in the next few weeks. We have tons of the single-seat, no dinner tickets. Only one sold so far. Cheers!

About 40% sold on the buffet tickets already. If you have not bought, you should do so in the next few weeks. We have tons of the single-seat, no dinner tickets. Only one sold so far. Cheers!

Article on the problems within the restaurant industry. Cheers! http://www.cnbc.com/id/45756655

Good article on Sears' issues. Cheers! http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-28/sears-as-lampert-s-mismanaged-asset-loses-shoppers-flowing-to-macy-s.html

Hi Twa, I agree with Buffett's comments, but how is Saks and Macy's doing better than Sears? Part of it is that the department store business' economics and moats have diminished, but a great deal is also execution. Sears has not executed well at all. Cheers!

Richard Garneau, who was one of our guests at last year's dinner and is CEO of Abitibi, had a short, but very good interview in the Globe & Mail. Cheers! http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/abitibibowater-from-behemoth-to-lean-and-green/article2283877/

They are moving way too slow. This was the problem in the past and remains now. They need to close 600-800 stores, not 100-120. Their footprint is way too big in this market, and they need to shrink to compete. They've made a few good steps...subleasing space, spinning out brands to other retailers...but far more mistakes...not closing or selling stores, buying back shares at ridiculous prices, not bringing in actual quality retail experience, blowing cash on maintaining stores that should have gone long ago, not rapidly revamping their number of products and merchandising. Frankly, I'd be far more intrigued in Sears if they had closed 600-800 stores. Closing 100-120 means that they are going to continue to blow cash on stores that over time will continue to produce decreasing sales. And geez, why the hell do they still have the catalog business? The only catalog they should produce is the Christmas catalog. All the others are a waste of time and money, and they should have long ago moved their customers to online shopping. Cheers!

Peter...you're fired as CEO! How dare you say Trump is just pretending to run. He's worth $7B! His daughter thinks he'll be a great president. And no president in recent history has hair like that...the only one that came close was Kim Jong-Il on a windy day. Cheers!

If Trump runs as an independent, and unemployment continues to decrease over the next 8-10 months, I'm betting that Obama gets re-elected. Just when everyone thought that Herman Cain was the worst thing that could happen to American politics, and nothing could top Sarah Palin! ;D Cheers! http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/23/trump-dumps-gop/?hpt=hp_t3

Article on Berkshire and Buffett in 2011. Cheers! http://www.cnbc.com/id/45778380

Just like to thank you all for your contributions through the year, your friendship, and the support shown for board events...in particular our annual Fairfax Financial Shareholder's Dinner. Hope you all have a happy holiday, and wish you all the best for 2012! Cheers!