Parsad

Highly unlikely it's Fairfax, unless they plan on using the funds to buy back part of their other insurance businesses that aren't wholly-owned or they are acquiring another insurance business. When Prem mentioned that $1000 price per share, he wasn't being facetious. He thinks it's reasonable, and it certainly seems like from the insurance business and higher interest income alone, they would be on pace to hit that in the next year or two. The swaps would be worth considerably more...so unless there is a better alternative, they aren't selling them yet. Cheers!

The only one that would matter at all is if it was Prem selling. Other than that...who really cares which fund was selling. I didn't worry which one was buying when I bought (because most weren't buying), and I don't care which one was/is selling when they sell. Cheers!

Probably some fund selling a stake after qualifying for the ex-dividend date and the recent run up. Cheers!

You cannot invest in Wintaai. Francis invited a few close friends and family to join him in the beginning, but at present he has no plans on raising more money or opening it up. Although he may consider it one day. For the most part, it is a Chou family vehicle...and one hell of a vehicle at that! Cheers!

Actually with Crosby...the surprising thing is that we didn't say RIP decades ago! A lot of health challenges. Cheers!

https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/20/business/china-evergrande-hui-ka-yan-hnk-intl/index.html At some point, the bank of China is not going to be able to continue acting as the shock absorber for these bad debts. Meaning...eventually they are going to have to go through their own Lehman/AIG moment! Cheers!

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bank-america-says-cbdcs-future-121752086.html Cheers!

It's a joke...damn funny...and horribly sad at the same time! Cheers! https://www.yahoo.com/news/astronaut-scott-kelly-delivers-world-035323930.html

Interesting story on how Miami wanted to be the crypto center of the World! Cheers! https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/15/opinions/crypto-miami-sam-bankman-fried-cline-ctrp/index.html

Peter was Fairfax's chief risk officer for many years. Nothing gets bought or done without Peter's input. Any insurance deal...Peter signs off. Any large investment...Peter signs off. Now as President, he is directly involved with all day to day operations. He's as knowledgeable as anyone about Fairfax's operations. Cheers!

I know for a fact...from the horse's mouth...that Paul's departure had nothing to do with Fairfax. It was for personal reasons. And based on those reasons, I would assume Paul would be welcomed back if and when he was ready or wanted to return...perhaps not in the same role, but advisory/director/etc. On the investment side, large investments are approved by the committee...not any one individual. So suggesting that any investments were Paul's fault would not be fair. The committee's investment style has been tweaked in the last couple of years primarily by the addition and more significant duties of Wade and Lawrence and the decision to stop shorting. Cheers!

Bluegold did a great job replying to the first two. Let me handle a couple others...I will give you non-fungible and harder to split. In terms of moving...you sell your property, move your cash. Yes, not as liquid, but is movable. Easier to create...not true...there is only a limited amount of land. For example, here in Vancouver, we are surrounded by three borders...two natural (coastline and mountains) and one man-made (the U.S. border). Because of that, we have house prices comparable to San Francisco or New York. I'll give you a few reasons not to own BTC where real estate has the advantage: Cash flowing...generates income. Only some BTC wallets pay interest. Far less volatile...my house price may fluctuate, but not as crazy as BTC. Tax deductions...self explanatory. Provides low-risk leverage...can you imagine using any sort of leverage with BTC? You would never know when you get a margin call. Accessible...my house isn't going anywhere. As long as I pay the mortgage and taxes, no one can defraud me out of my house...in other words, no hacks! Cheers!

Real estate. Cheers!

Explain the large hacks of wallets that occur all the time. Cheers!

There is a natural increase in illiquid wallets as the price drops. The large whales are holding onto their coins. Here is a breakdown of BTC's liquid and illiquid markets...you can see that liquidity drops when the price of BTC collapses as it has. Cheers!

BTC is not a hard asset. If anything to lend any sort of credence to your argument...it would be considered a hybrid asset. I personally categorize it as intangible. Cheers!

It's not if you give someone the keys...they steal the keys. Big difference! So to suggest that the network is the most secure in the world for transactions is not fully correct. The network, like most networks, is secure...but fraud and hacks are prevalent...theft of wallets is prevalent. Cheers!

A lot of people try and use BTC for short-term as well...as a replacement for fiat currency with no scrutiny. In fact, I would argue that most transactions are short-term in nature...not long-term buy and holds. I've never said that BTC wasn't more efficient...especially with layer 2 protocols. That's why I believe blockchain networks are the future. When people discuss the security of BTC, you cannot exclude the exchanges where wallets are kept. Keys are no different than e-transfers where personal/transfer information is hacked. If you have the keys, you can do whatever the hell you want. We've seen it...regularly...where wallets have been hacked and millions, if not hundreds of millions, stolen. Cheers!

I was explaining why crypto payment systems aren't going to replace fiat currency payment systems anytime soon. The whole debate today started because Rka called BTC a hard asset. It isn't. It's an intangible asset...simple! Cheers!

Again, let's be clear about this. Only if you keep your keys off any exchanges. Otherwise it can be hacked like anything else. Cheers!

What did I get wrong? Stability...look at the volatility in BTC over the last few years, months, weeks, days. If I value my house at $400K, and the swing in one day of BTC values it at $360K after the deal closes...how is that going to work?! If someone invoices a company $20K, and then suddenly the next day they get $18K...how does that work?! Liquidity...look at all of the wallets that are inaccessible and driving businesses into the ground because they can't get at their BTC. Portability...any more portable or efficient than current fiat networks? Security...hacks up the ying-yang! Trust in the system! Cheers!

When have I said anything different? I've always stated that a decentralized network is essential for a functioning replacement to current fiat currency networks. Blockchain allows those decentralized networks to exist. End of story. My argument has always been that crypto is too volatile to replace fiat currency. By itself, it has no value. That blockchain is in its infancy and that the outcome/winners isn't clear. That this isn't investing, but speculation. What have I said different? Cheers!

That's not what most on here were arguing. That's a completely different stance. As a store of value, it will only work if the network is functional and can provide the utility that fiat currency networks do. There has to be price stability...liquidity...portability...security...etc. The BTC on-chain network was not capable of that. Layer 2 networks have some promise. That was my argument...that as things stand, it functions as a payment system, but not one that can replace fiat currency networks. That without functional networks the currencies are worth nothing. Blockchain is also in its infancy. BTC and Ethereum may be akin to AOL and CompuServe...not Google or Meta. To suggest that I don't understand what you are talking about is the result of you not making a compelling enough argument on the practical utility of crypto as it is. If I don't agree with you, then I must not understand. Cheers!

All you're doing here is stating the stupidity of owning gold. Not actually suggesting why most current crypto currencies could actually replace fiat currencies. When you say that crypto is simply a payment system. I agree with that. When you say it could replace current fiat currencies as it is now...I completely disagree with that. ITEX uses electronic barter as a payment system. It isn't going to replace the USD. Cheers!

A can opener is useful...it's not a hard asset. Cheers!