KFRCanuk

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meltdown/view/ I watched this yesterday. I thought it was a good recap of what happened. I'm wondering if Paulson would make the same choices given the chance again.

Q1 2009 Came out http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/May2009/13/c3597.html

I need to pick from a list of CDN mutual funds from my employee pension fund. I have asked if there is a larger list available since the fund list is rather pedestrian. Hopefully they will provide one. Filling out a "risk" questionair does not appeal to me. Chou Funds are out since I'm not accredited. Any young jockeys that I should look for?

Just to continue down the rat hole... Pepsi is releasing an HFCS free drink called Pepsi throwback http://www.bevreview.com/2009/04/17/pepsi-throwback

BK?

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/AbitibiBowater-files-for-apf-14945598.html I wonder what FFH will be left with. Is it still possible that they come up positive over the long term?

Saw this on Autoblog and thought it was interesting http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/03/gm-and-aig-why-bondholders-might-want-bankruptcy/ So it sounds like the tax payer pays to keep GM afloat or backstops AIG to back the CDS's due to bankruptcy. Wow... Can you say weapons of financial mass destruction?

They are still hard at work. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Fairfax-and-Steelhead-iw-14832538.html

+1 beer

I was watching CBC news last night and they had a report of urban decay that has afflicted Detroit. Detroit/Michigan was once the Auto capital of the world. The Detroit Institute of Arts is a legacy left behind from more prosperous times. As is the dilapidated architecture in city/state. I would tend to think that 50 years ago, most people thought that Detroit/Michigan/auto/manufacturing had a solid moat. Slowly but surely the moat eroded. Another example would be the 1st minivan the VW Microbus. VW pretty much owned the small van market. 40 years later, VW Touran is a re-branding Chrylser minivans and can't even manage to sell those in North America. Mismanagement over a long time can destroy moats. I'm not sure if I have a question at this point but I'd like to hear comments and/or further examples.

To me, Ford is in the same situation as GM/Chrysler. The difference is that they raised capital before the credit crisis and thus look smarter. Don't get me wrong though Ford and GM have finally some great products. Chevrolet Malibu fit and finish is pretty darn close to Audi. Chevrolet Volt will be a revolution. Ford Flex/Edge and Tauraus are definitely great steps forward.

Am I wrong in thinking that Obama is pre-announcing the bankruptcy of GM and Chrysler. They are telling consumers that their warranties will be backed by the Federal Government. It seems that on several occasions, the Obama Administration seems to pre-anounce what they will be doing and then coming out and doing it a couple of weeks after.

Found the link http://www.cbc.ca/national/blog/video/politicseconomy/the_prediction_business.html I kept on thinking... I know someone that knew!

I did not catch the whole story tonight. Those in western Canada might still catch it tonight in the 2nd 1/2 of 1 hour cbc news. I hope to find an online link.

The Fed is now printing more money. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/18/AR2009031802283.html?hpid=topnews "The Federal Reserve yesterday escalated its massive campaign to stabilize the economy, saying it would flood the financial system with an additional $1.2 trillion. The decision by the Fed to buy government bonds and mortgage-related securities is designed to lower borrowing costs for home mortgages and other types of loans, thereby stimulating economic activity. The central bank, effectively, will print more money to pay for the purchases." I find it interesting Bernake mentioned this possibility in the 60 Minutes piece. He was pre-announcing things. Now will the bank of Canada do the same thing to keep the CAD down?

Saw him on the hour the other night "He retired at the age of 34 and he didn't hit the jackpot.So, how'd he do it ?" http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/videos.html?id=1063578735

Haha! Who owns the National Post and who owns bonds/converts in the company that own FP?

With the recent privatization of Northbridge, I'm sitting on about 6% cash in my portfolio. I'm not sure what to do with it, I had a couple of ideas but for now I'm happy just sitting and watching. So anyone else sitting on cash and watching or are you all in?

Top 10 losess at AIG http://www.thestreet.com/story/10467300/1/aigs-top-10-losses-from-bad-to-worse.html?cm_ven=GOOGLEFI #1 is interesting...

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/marketwire/0475806.htm "Pursuant to the Amalgamation, Northbridge will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fairfax and all holders of Northbridge common shares, other than Fairfax and its affiliates, will be entitled to receive $39.00 in cash per share by way of the redemption of redeemable preferred shares of the amalgamated corporation, all as more fully described in the meeting materials mailed to Northbridge shareholders and filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) in connection with the special shareholders' meeting to approve the Amalgamation." What does that mean for current NB shareholders? Does it mean you get a preferred share that will be worth $39 for it's lifetime?

Anyone catch the conference call?

Should be anytime now :)

The iPhone revolutionized the smartphone market. It blew away the competition. The iPhone also does some things very poorly. Typing lots/long messages on the iPhone really is not practical. I don't believe that people will want to read novels on an iPhone. The screen just seems too small.

http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/kit-eaton/technomix/should-new-york-times-ditch-paper-go-all-kindle-e-reader "The Times reportedly has 830,000 subscribers. A Kindle costs $359. Thus distributing a free Kindle to each subscriber would cost about $298 million"

I have been watching flights for two trips I would like to take. One of them is to the FFH AGM. So far, I have seen the price move a bit $119 one week, to $155 another week to $125 this week(each way). I might hold out for $99 ;) A talking head on CNN said this weekend that the Airlines use automated pricing models. Apparently none of the pricing models don't handle the transition from High volume to low volume. I have also noticed that as flights fill up, air canada seems to assign larger planes. They 1st start with a bombardier regional jet, then embraer and then step up to an airbus 319/320.