ValueMaven

Only about $20b of bonds vs $280b of equities. I believe there is a muni bond trader at HQ who mostly is rolling over positions, and managing some of the t bill exposure as well. I think what you are referring to is when WEB gets active in stuff like Junk paper in 02/03…and not the typical general account for Berkshire. I’d expect Ted to do more here - but also work with Todd and Greg as well. Ted has distress experience

2,000% ?? How … even still you might be flattish with that drawdown lol

Just placed my full year allotment for 2022 this morning. Dec 21 interest hits on Monday: 1/3/22

Welcome aboard @fareastwarriors - most of us will be double dipping in January as well. Early modeling of the May rest rate looks like 4.5% to 8%. If inflation the next 4 months matches the previous 2 and doesn’t slow down, the variable rate will be ~8%. Right now it’s 2.66% with only 2 out of the 6 months reporting.

How about the typo in the Sanders letter —- Precision Castports —- I had to do a double take

Great site. Thank you for sharing. Guy posts a lot of interesting material and analysis

@gfpvery helpful. Thanks. Why are you taking March and Sept rates when the rate resets in Nov and May? Why the 2 month lag. also what is the source of that table? I can’t seem to find that specific one on the BLS website

wow - very well said!! I’m glad it just wasn’t me who has had this trouble. The other idea is to just use CPI as a gauge and compare to what the rate is when it resets. Although that’s not an ideal scenario.

exactly

@longterminvestor agreed. I wonder how they are modeling out future CPI U based in that article however. also I can’t seem to find a good source for CPI U.

Might be immaterial … However the BHE 2021 Investor Day presentation has now been posted directly onto the headquarters website. Historically this annual fixed income presentation was only posted on the IR section of BHE website. I wonder what caused this change ?? Could we expect similar presentations for BNSF - which like BHE issues it’s own debt into the fixed income markers. Nonetheless, I thought I would make everyone aware of this given the lack of typical updates on headquarters website !!

https://www.freep.com/story/money/personal-finance/susan-tompor/2021/12/21/savers-can-rush-make-year-end-move-put-more-money-bonds/6500031001/ Really interesting insight There are four more monthly rates to go — December, January, February and March. The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers is published every month and the I Bond rate reflects that index. Pederson said if the last four monthly rates for the CPI-U average 0.5% then the May 1 rate would be at about 7.2%. If rates average higher than that — say 0.9% -- the next I Bond inflation rate would be more than 10%, he said. Right now, it appears as if the May 1 rate could be similar to the current rate or maybe higher, which would help savers lock up a decent rate for one year at least

You are LOCKED for 12M. Period. The US Federal Govt has to determine that your area was hit by an emergency (Flood, Wild Fire etc) to warrant a pre-12M redemption. Who cares - these i Bonds are way better investments then basically most bond funds etc. I have a friend, very successful wall street guy - has 5 kids. They put in $70K ($10K for each kid, and then husband and wife) in Dec and will do another $70K in Jan. $140K @ 7.12% - not bad. He had no idea about these. That is the real unique part - you are basically double-dipping into year-end, at the elevated CPI U rate. Plus, if inflation persists then these things really payoff.

Batteries are a critical part of EV storage. Duracell batteries are WAY WAY better then anything else on the market. It's not even close. There is also a MASSIVE market for items that need hard batteries. No way around this. The science is amazing. Frankly, I'm more interested in how Duracell is expanding into Auto and Industrial battery markets more broadly.

It's a cash alternative - I dont see the downside like you imply. If you have a life crisis (over the next 12M) and need every penny you can get ASAP - then yes, this wont help. If inflation tanks, these current i bond series wont be of much interest either as the reset rate goes lower and lower. Even still - these beat keeping idle cash in a savings account - which is how everyone is positioning these. That is really the whole point. I'll be adding another slug on 1/1/22.

WSJ article from a day or two ago on i Bonds: https://www.wsj.com/articles/treasury-has-a-i-bond-bargain-inflation-stocks-interest-rates-rebalancing-investment-11639586799

Yes - a family of 4 could in theory do $40,000 in Dec, and another $40,000 in Jan - all at the i bond rate. Unique aspect of very high CPI U and the Nov reset occurrence

Nice! It's amazing how many people are still unaware of these

Thank you for sharing. First time I've heard about the See's offer

Fairly sizable outperformance by Berkshire over the last 5 trading days. BRKB up 2.6%, while the S&P is down 1.6%

2-3% annual buyback for the next 10-15 years?!

I'm fine with it for many reasons. Frankly, it helps balance out the incorrect old-world stigma that has historically plagued Berkshire. Plus we get $1b a year in dividends, and a fairly aggressive buyback.

From Lord Bloomstran: Berkshire’s $31B Apple investment is now worth $159B. Wow. With dividends, the position has compounded at 36% a year for ~5.5 years.

Given all we know now on these i Bonds - who here is buying more on 1/1/22?? I know I will be

Well said!! @Swedish_Compounder - I totally agree