Parsad

As I mentioned in an earlier post a couple of weeks ago, one of our partners when renewing his commercial leases had to offer across the board 20% reductions in rent to his leasees. Everyone he knew also had to do the same. In the article below, it seems as though commercial real estate prices have fallen 27% year over year, and 36% from their peak. Unlike residential real estate, I suspect the correction in commerical prices has not stabilized and will be significantly greater from the peak. Cheers! http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aQ9I9q6Z0DaM

No sorry guys, I actually forgot all about it. I don't particularly get concerned about those things, as this company has always taken care of things. But they read the board and like to keep up with shareholder concerns, so I'm pretty sure they addressed it after some of your posts. Believe it or not, Fairfax actually runs without any input from me...really, it's true! ;D That Prem guy and all his staff actually do get around to getting some things done, instead of me cracking the whip time and again. Cheers!

SEC put out a warning on the use of leveraged ETF's. Cheers! http://www.cnbc.com/id/32463851

Excellent article from FastCompany on the three Buffett children and their foundations funded by $1B donations from their father. Cheers! http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/138/daddy-givebucks.html?page=0%2C0

Hi Cardboard, I didn't mean to imply anything with the junior mining comment. Just that refilings are very common, and occur with some frequency from small-caps to large-caps. Most companies naturally prefer not to have refilings, but mistakes do happen from time to time, and a refiling is necessary. The controls Fairfax put in place were primarily to do with accounting controls...intercompany transfers, etc. I don't believe the controls were particularly directed at things like a simple 13-F filing. Cheers!

Cardboard, we work with junior mining companies at Quantum, and you wouldn't believe how many times things are refiled...including stuff that the auditors have signed off on. It looks like a simple mistake in accounting. I don't know what the reasons are for the debt issued, and it still may have something to do with ORH, but the 13-F filing seems to just have been an oversight. They filed the corrected 13-F after noticing the problem from all the different shareholders inquiring about it. Cheers!

Looks like you guys caught Fairfax's eye with your discussion on the 13-F filing and missing ORH holdings. They've refiled the correct 13-F. Cheers! http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/915191/000095012309035828/o56681e13fvhrza.txt

Yes, Eric is correct. I'm not saying that Simons is a fraud. Just that those numbers are juiced from something. It's just not on proprietary trading snatching a penny here or a penny there by finding mispriced trades. Like Bolt...who ran a 9.58...I really have a hard time believing he's doing that completely unenhanced. When five Jamaican runners all test positive, it becomes more and more difficult to believe that this guy is doing it all on his God-given gifts. Simons is notorious for keeping a lid on exactly how they make money. He sued two former employees who left the firm because they breached their non-compete clause. Leverage, derivatives, I don't know...but the risk/reward ratio there is skewed and I'm cautious in touting his results. There are lies, damn lies and then there's statistics. Numbers don't always tell the whole story. Cheers!

Can you expand on this statement? No need to expand. The feeling is the same I had when I saw Usain Bolt run a 9.58 today and pull up near the finish. Cheers!

Most of us here that have owned Fairfax shares for many years and remember the naked short attacks in past years, have noticed how public perception of naked short-selling has changed from those days. Deepcapture has a nice little article showing where we were and where we are now in the battle against manipulation of market prices by naked short-selling. Cheers! http://www.deepcapture.com/the-pendulum-swings/

For those that have not read the Deepcapture's expose "The Story of Dendreon", there really are some dirty bits about some well known characters in the financial industry. Some of the connections between various firms is actually quite mind-boggling. In Chapter 12, we find out about various connections including convicted felon Sam Antar, Herb Greenberg and Roddy Boyd. Anyone who has been on this board or its predecessor are quite familiar with Greenberg and Boyd. Their names are up there with Peter Eavis, Fabrice Taylor, John Gwynn and Jim Chanos. Boyd's father actually runs a large hedge fund with close connections to Milken. http://www.deepcapture.com/michael-milken-60000-deaths-and-the-story-of-dendreon-chapter-12-of-15/ In Chapter 13, we find out that Renaissance Technologies current CFO was formerly the CFO for Steve Cohen's SAC Capital. Many on here know that my thoughts on Renaissance's results from their proprietary trading suffer from a case of severe disbelief. I had no idea that James Rowen had any relationship with SAC Capital. http://www.deepcapture.com/michael-milken-60000-deaths-and-the-story-of-dendreon-chapter-13-of-15/ Chapters 14 & 15 finish up the story and the final outcome of what happened. Cheers! http://www.deepcapture.com/michael-milken-60000-deaths-and-the-story-of-dendreon-chapter-14-of-15/ http://www.deepcapture.com/michael-milken-60000-deaths-and-the-story-of-dendreon-chapter-15-of-15/

Hi Folks, After Zorro mentioned doing so in a previous post, I gave the idea of a separate board for Steak'n Shake some thought. While it is a bit premature relative to the track records at Berkshire and Fairfax, with the amount of boardmembers now participating through Biglari vehicles...The Lion Fund, Western Sizzlin and Steak'n Shake...I felt that it may be appropriate to have a separate board. The other reason why I think it is appropriate to give Sardar a board, is that many of us have always wished we could have watched Buffett, Watsa, Lampert, Steinberg & Cummings, etc when they were in the early stages of development of their holding company vehicles. This is one of the few examples in the last few years, where boardmembers from the MSN BRK Board and the Corner of Berkshire & Fairfax Board, have witnessed each little step as they've progressed. We've actually been privy to a terrific case study in corporate activism, capital allocation, structuring of transactions, leadership, turnaround procedures, financing, franchising and expansion of operations. I believe a separate board will allow boardmembers to scrutinize and understand the successes and failures at Steak'n Shake as they begin their acquisitive expansion period. Sardar has always been very supportive of our message boards, from the very first interview he did years ago, to the kindness he shows to boardmembers at various meetings. We are fortunate to be in a position to watch and learn from his progress. Cheers!

The next shoe to drop in 2010, along with Alt-A and Opt-A refinancings. Surprisingly, Blodget keeps it simple and straight forward. Thanks for the article Alan. Cheers! http://www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-commercial-real-estate-loans-going-bad-at-frightening-rate-2009-8

Berkshire released their quarterly holdings today: http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1067983/000095012309035453/v53429ae13fvhr.txt Article on some of the changes: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Berkshire-reports-Becton-rb-2560083979.html?x=0&.v=2 Cheers!

Francis' 13-F for the 2nd Q is out. Cheers! http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1389403/000095012309035094/d68838e13fvhr.txt

Mohnish's 13-F for the 2nd Q is out. Cheers! http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1173334/000095012309035327/c53107e13fvhr.txt

The one thing I was always amazed by when Peter Cundill managed money was that he had only one down year in over twenty years. Cheers!

I've always admired Li Ka-shing. Very astute and bright businessman. I don't like the fact that he gave too much power of his company to his two boys Victor and Richard, but otherwise he's well worth listening to. Cheers! http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=aHS2XesH_lJw

It's restaurant style, so you tip the server at the end. I think Steak'n Shake is somewhere in the middle between sit down and self-serve. Cheers!

No don't worry, I had a big waffle breakfast with a nice cup of joe this morning! I'm kind of full right now. ;D Cheers!

I've been to Red Robin's alot. Their burgers are one of the best for the price. I also love their fries, which are more like English or New Zealand chips! They are a well run company, but they are suffering a bit in the last year as they are in a slightly higher tier than a Steak'n Shake or other sit-down burger joints, but much cheaper than most mid-priced restaurant chains...pretty much in the Applebee's category in pricing. Sardar wants Steak'n Shake to use a model somewhere between Red Robin's and Chik-Fil-A. Cheers!

IOU's stop September 4th. Cheers! http://money.cnn.com/2009/08/13/news/economy/california_to_end_iou_september_4/index.htm?cnn=yes

I think the Chinese acquisition idea is probably gaining more traction. Prem said in the last conference call that they were hoping to close on a Chinese deal. Perhaps, the cash is being used for multiple transactions...debt, Chinese acquisition, Odyssey acquisition? We'll find out soon enough. Cheers!

Could be right Stubble. I'm sure we'll find out the answer during the next conference call...if not sooner. Cheers!

Buffett mentioned a little while ago, that the type of investment manager they like as a CIO would be someone like Peter Cundill. That's the only individual he's ever mentioned by name in the last couple of years, that would represent a realistic choice for them. Tim was Peter's star pupil, and ran Cundill with Peter for several years. He got the position by offering to work for Cundill for free. Tim would probably still be there if Cundill was never sold to MacKenzie. Now, I'm sure there are many people here who realistically could see someone like Prem Watsa in the CIO position. Not necessarily Prem, but someone very much like him. One of the highest regarded individuals by all the principals at Hamblin-Watsa has always been Francis Chou. Prem has nothing but the highest praise for Francis as an investment manager. Sam Mitchell, who has an incredible track record himself, is keenly aware of Francis' investment skills and acumen. So, I'm not going to argue about whether these two fall into the category of "the best" or "most stellar track records", since the two best investment managers (Buffett, Watsa) I use as mentors, have already touted the likes of Tim and Francis. There are some people who manage money with impeccable numbers that are higher than Tim or Francis' records. Where they are by far in the highest echelon of managers is when it comes to their ethics...something that a higher performance number will never indicate. I think for a CIO for Berkshire, this characteristic outweights the absolute performance numbers. Cheers!