Gregmal

This is all great and sounds cool, but what these guys do is effectively gamble away the entirety of your allocation with the hope that under certain circumstances, their wagers will result in a big windfall. Peronsally, I'd love to have a job where the expected outcome is that I lose all of your money, with no consequence. Actually scratch that.... with the expectation that next year you will give me more to do the exact same thing.... Why do these guys get so loudmouthed and boisterous during times where they hit? Because these schemes revolve around marketing.

Huckabee recently stated that any elected official supporting a shutdown, should not be allowed to take a paycheck until their constituents are allowed to get back to work. So simple, but yet so true. Why are these guys getting paid? Total scum.

Yea, IDK but it seems the narrative has shifted quite a bit over the years. Buffett is widely regarded as one of the greatest INVESTORS ever. Guy in his heyday used leverage and was trading like a madman. Its at best an excuse that now he is an operator. Or that he's actually not a stock guy, but someone who runs businesses. I thought this(below) was interesting and probably mirrored some of the chat that happened here in another thread regarding Buffett and Musk. Buffet is not an innovator or business builder(in the organic sense), he's a capital allocator. And one of the greatest ever. Well, up until maybe 15 years ago that is. Now, for whatever reason, he does so little investing that people seem to think he is something that he's never been. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/warren-buffett-may-be-one-of-the-most-admired-men-in-all-of-finance-but-elon-musk-isnt-buying-into-the-mystique-2020-05-07

Started a small position in SLB

Yea it is limited capacity but I'm more concerned, as a demand indicator, with "Sell out". This to me indicates they clearly have room to increase capacity and the people will be there. I'd be concerned if you're at 30% capacity and having trouble selling that. Such as the case with some airlines.

We have crappy diets, resulting in first world problems like high blood pressure, diabetes etc. In rural China and rural Africa, people have 110/70 blood pressure well into their old age. In the western world, with processed foods and high salt and high sugar, we have extremely high blood pressure and diabetes rates very early in life. Our bodies don't fight off viruses as well as healthy people. My view is it's largely diet based. All, the above and second and third world countries also have reporting issues, plus the epidemic has not run its. course yet. There are reports of bad situations in Ecuador (Quito) and Brazil but numbers are hard to come by. While these and other points mentioned above are all valid, I highly doubt they can fully explain the huge discrepancy between the developed and the developing countries. And especially considering the big factor that should make situations worse in developing countries -- their lack of good healthcare systems. I do wonder whether how some countries do not care much about this virus and this is being reflected in recognizing/reporting the COVID death numbers. My wife's coworker (they work in healthcare), who has families in Bangladesh, told her yesterday that while COVID is spreading there, people are more worried about going hungry than the virus. Suppose your people, media, and government do not really recognize this virus as anything novel or serious... In such countries, even if people die due to COVID or related illness, they might not warrant much attention and won't be tracked like some doomsday counter. In that sense, is COVID another "first world problem"? Yup. I think this is on the money. Media coverage and fear mongering have made this what it is. Its now widely recognized that this was here much earlier than some people thought, and guess what? Life was totally normal and folks got on with their normal business and the economy was humming along just fine. So yes, its a shame we manufactured a horror story and certainly did impair parts of the economy, probably unnecessarily. But, in other news. Shanghai Disney tickets sold out. RCL is reporting normal booking volume for 2021, guess not everyone is living under a table in their basement.

Good interview. I like Zell and he's got some insightful things to say. It is true, outside of the net lease market, there's not really any transactions occurring. It might be perplexing or scary at first, but I think the answer is relatively simple. Once a month the rent comes due. These assets trade on their cash flows. Until it is determined that the revenue streams are either a) permanently lower, or b) back to normal, most people, both on the buy side and the sell side, dont really want to take the risk of making a mistake.

Of course this will be ignored by all the blabbermouths who attacked folks for bringing up such possibilities....Because gosh darn, it took away from our zombie apocalypse narrative... I didnt see it either. ;) Ive been busy over redigging the holes to move the goal posts to retroactively prove what antibodies and these stories have told us. ::) Looking back in the thread I took some pretty good heat for this. Im for one glad this info keeps coming out. Good to see. Yea, the way its shaping up, the ones who proclaimed themselves right about everything after like 2-3 days are going to end up having been wrong about literally everything.... ironic.

Of course this will be ignored by all the blabbermouths who attacked folks for bringing up such possibilities....Because gosh darn, it took away from our zombie apocalypse narrative...

Thats not what Im saying at all. Posting an opinion from someone on Twitter isn't a fact. Thats all. Frankly, Ive always been of the opinion that the majority of people on Twitter are total losers. Specifically ones that sit around all day commenting on stupid shit like memes and raising controversies that dont really have any purpose, POTUS 45 would be the grandest example of this, but 95% of Twitter users fall into this category. Its a way for little people to feel important. Very, very self inflating being able to # and tweet @ important people like celebrities and media personalities too; a cheap lotto ticket shot at your 15 minutes of fame. On a separate note, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/05/05/sweden-says-coronavirus-cases-likely-country-early-november/ But hey, IT NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVA, coulda been in California or NY in January or February....

Only things engraved in stone tablets count, right? Because it's the medium that matters, not what is written, if it makes sense, and who said it and what the original source is and the fact that it can be verified elsewhere, right? I mean, I thought you'd like that I also enjoy Trump's favorite medium and source of information. ...as you write this on an internet forum, much higher in the hierarchy.. ::) Im not saying or disputing any of that. Just pointing out the irony of telling a guy to bring facts when the bulk of the stuff you post are Twitter links and opinions or skewed interpretations from biased people. An indirect way of giving legitimacy to you own opinion(unless you feel different then the messages displayed in what you post).

If you have any facts to share on COVID19 or the response to the crisis, go for it. Otherwise, you're the Trump propaganda bot. Liberty I know this is 2020 and all, but Twitter links arent facts either. Nor are the tweets themselves.

We can mention that one from one of the women, but I believe the more damaging accusation was this one from Ford as reported by The Guardian: "led her into a bedroom, pinned her to the bed and groped her, attempting to remove the bathing suit she was wearing and putting his hand over her mouth to stop her from screaming before she was able to escape." They investigated that didn't they? Or at least held hearings...now though, they dont want to and no one who was screaming for hearings and investigations is doing so now.... they've exposed themselves as frauds. Remember that stupid and sexist rallying cry about "believe all women" or something? Not anymore? Or just not when the guy you want to be president is accused?

Yea, I dont know but the frauds and hypocrites have been revealing themselves in full color with Biden. At least I've been honest. I could give two shits about how awful a person Trump is or how Biden is a corrupt creep but I could live with him in the WH as well. But the fake contempt people disgusted by Trumps behavior are now showing its all just blabber as they excuse and downplay and rationalize the very same issues with Joe...The #metoo frauds like Milano. Believe all women except when its inconvenient to you, right? Tara Reade doesn't remember what she put in the Senate complaint. She goes out of her way to draw attention to Biden in her complaint filed with the Senate but then doesn't even mention the assault? She complained that he made her uncomfortable and so she was assigned a new spot where she would be away from him. What else are they going to do, reassign Biden? First she went to law school, then a Biden staffer, then a singer, an actress, a cat lady. Her history doesn't point to stability -- drama, yes. Singer, actress -- attention getter. That said, it doesn't for certain mean that she is lying. Those people do exist though and instability and drama are red flags hallmarks. So she is a mix between Julie Swetnick and Christina Ford.... While your response is a reasonable one, people dont get to play this card. Not after how they behaved with the Kavanaugh allegations. Not after the incessant whining about quality of character with Trump. The presumption of innocence was destroyed by liberals over the past 4 years. You dont get it back because your guy is running. Trump is a narcissistic clown, and Biden is a world class establishment creep. Those are our candidate for POTUS. At least lets treat them the same and stop pretending this is a case of Jesus running against Hitler. Try as they might, the Conservatives cannot wash their hands clean when they find one witness against one Liberal. Clinton, yes, there were more cockroaches in the kitchen. When we find another, then another, and another, with Biden we will then know we have a creep. Not even close yet. He's almost 80 and he has been in office for decades and all you've got to show for it is a single complaining woman who cannot remember what she complained about in her report. Yea, well, this happened about a dozen years more recently than when Kavanaugh supposedly pulled out his pee pee at a frat party....

More ESRT

Yea, I dont know but the frauds and hypocrites have been revealing themselves in full color with Biden. At least I've been honest. I could give two shits about how awful a person Trump is or how Biden is a corrupt creep but I could live with him in the WH as well. But the fake contempt people disgusted by Trumps behavior are now showing its all just blabber as they excuse and downplay and rationalize the very same issues with Joe...The #metoo frauds like Milano. Believe all women except when its inconvenient to you, right? Tara Reade doesn't remember what she put in the Senate complaint. She goes out of her way to draw attention to Biden in her complaint filed with the Senate but then doesn't even mention the assault? She complained that he made her uncomfortable and so she was assigned a new spot where she would be away from him. What else are they going to do, reassign Biden? First she went to law school, then a Biden staffer, then a singer, an actress, a cat lady. Her history doesn't point to stability -- drama, yes. Singer, actress -- attention getter. That said, it doesn't for certain mean that she is lying. Those people do exist though and instability and drama are red flags hallmarks. So she is a mix between Julie Swetnick and Christina Ford.... While your response is a reasonable one, people dont get to play this card. Not after how they behaved with the Kavanaugh allegations. Not after the incessant whining about quality of character with Trump. The presumption of innocence was destroyed by liberals over the past 4 years. You dont get it back because your guy is running. Trump is a narcissistic clown, and Biden is a world class establishment creep. Those are our candidate for POTUS. At least lets treat them the same and stop pretending this is a case of Jesus running against Hitler.

Yea, I dont know but the frauds and hypocrites have been revealing themselves in full color with Biden. At least I've been honest. I could give two shits about how awful a person Trump is or how Biden is a corrupt creep but I could live with him in the WH as well. But the fake contempt people disgusted by Trumps behavior are now showing its all just blabber as they excuse and downplay and rationalize the very same issues with Joe...The #metoo frauds like Milano. Believe all women except when its inconvenient to you, right?

The problem with this "the bottom is right around the corner" thinking, is that it keeps you glued with false hope in an otherwise bad investment. Fairfax has been pretty much exactly what it is today for as long time now. And since I joined this place, theres been a massive opportunity cost for many because they keep finding new ways to convince themselves that "its only a matter of time" before this outperforms...as if its a given. I do agree though, the GOOG and XOM purchases are encouraging. Stop trying to be a genius and just keep it simple.

https://nypost.com/2020/05/03/crowds-gather-to-buy-new-air-jordan-sneakers-in-atlanta-after-lockdown-lifted/ LOL, business as usual...

Its not so much the underperformance, thats part of investing. Ive typically been critical of some of the decision making, or lack thereof, but can live with it because his is still pretty damn sharp and when he talks he seems consistent and often is in the right place. IE stocks are cheap if rates stay low. Big tech is where the future is, etc. Berkshire is loaded with world class people as well. But there also gets to be a point where you have to question what one is saying/doing and what they are doing/saying. So if stocks are cheap if rates stay low, why arent you buying stocks? And if rates are low why do you continue to be massively overweight banks? If you admit "missing" Google, Amazon, etc...years ago, what prevents you from starting to buy them now(or years ago)? If you are incredibly bearish, why do you continue to hold the most economically sensitive companies? If $135B is "not all that much" under certain scenarios, what implications does that have on the rest of the portfolio? And yea, with that comment, you can guarantee the "hoard" is only going to continue to grow. If nothing was attractive back in March, but all the companies in need of capital found it and on better terms, is this not another acknowledgement that maybe the landscape is changing and that there is currently a surplus of cheap capital still waiting to be put to work? Look at the bond market in April; holy fuck. I mean its cool and great and all to have this idea of being a pay day lender or loan shark to the biggest companies in the world, but at the same time, what company in their right mind is dying to do a deal with Berkshire when by now I think both his words and his actions clearly indicate that Berkshire will only do a deal with you if they are ripping you off. Sure you will get desperate companies like Occidental, or Seritage, but for the most part I think he's too anchored to the past here. 08 happened and the playbook changed. Now, if quality companies have liquidity problems, the Fed is there. Greatly eliminating Berkshire's pool of potential deals and muddying what remains in the pool. And then even for that, there's a massive supply of PE firms and whatnot, with tons of cheap capital too. If Google can take some of its cash and make a few hires, and start a PE arm, there is no reason Berkshire cant. Not in any crazy speculative sort of way but in a way that brings in people to scour the horizon for new and exciting businesses. This is how you get into tech and biomedical fields. Every interesting biotech Ive looked at the past half decade...."early investors"...Gates Foundation, Google Ventures. It seems Berkshire is and has been very much in denial about the continued erosion of their advantages and relevance. Warren, more than anybody should know that you have to invest to grow. And instead he's hoarding and banking on businesses in secular decline. But at the same time, I get that, regardless of what he does, people will do mental gymnastics to justify it. My favorite is still "its too small to move the needle for Berkshire"...Like "oh yea, awesome. What a great business"..."Yea, but its too small. Fuck it"...This is an appropriate attitude from a capital allocator? Or the other side of that...He has to buy in size. So take the field of "big enough" companies. Then eliminate ALL of tech. Anything having any relation to ANYONE he's been friendly with because we're scared of the appearance of insider trading or whatever the absurd excuse was with Gates... then look at what's left? Well not very much and hardly anything attractive. No wonder we are where we are.

Probably no one. His tone was pretty much what I expected going heavily short into the weekend. Furtures should be down nicely given the markets knee jerk reliance on short term narratives of late. But on a larger scale, I was disappointed. Most investors, earn our future dollar because we recognize past mistakes and adapt. Buffett to me, seemed like a bewildered old man. I know its heresy to most, but whatever. He has broken his own rules over the past decade... only to end up costing shareholders because of such lack of discipline. AAPL worked, but IBM was bad, and missing the FANG stuff is a huge opportunity cost as well. He's admitted as much but then when the time came to buy into these business he decided to stand pat with Wells Fargo and Coke...yea, so much for reputations and decency! The tune from value investors for a while has been reliance on old cliches about how "this time isn't different". The truth is that no, this time isn't different. Because it started changing a long time ago. I think its reasonable to say Berkshire is impaired. They own businesses that got taken to the mat and the referee is currently counting and at 5 or 6...Insurance may very well be a bright spot. But banks, airplanes, and all the old economy stuff is on the ropes. The best selling Coke products during the pandemic are the Dasani water...yea, if you haven't got Covid yet, go drink some liquified sugar so you develop diabetes, and die when you get the virus! I admire the man greatly. But I also think its time to call a spade a spade. He has failed to get with the times and his investments since the GFC have been largely dismal. I have tried speculating on what is the reason, but at the end of the day it doesnt matter. You dont need to be a buyer of Amazon to see e-commerce booming, nor do you need to buy Tesla to see old auto is done. But you cant sit there and acknowledge these trends and admit your mistakes while continuing to invest in airlines, traditional auto, and bricks and mortar business. Nor can you be the worlds largest owner of banks while previously ackowledging the very real possibility of continuing ZIRP. Are we predicting deflation? Because theres a way to make that bet. Same for inflation. But with Buffett, he's continually, year after year, made the excuse for doing nothing. And thats not a reality I think most have admitted is costly. I often hear people say "follow what he does, not what he says". Well, I also hear people say "the markets are where they were in 2019". Well, Buffett and BRK are were they have been for a while, much further back than 2019... nothing has changed. There is just a convenient story to tell in 2020.

GM fits the gap too.

I dont think you can blame Buffett but I also think in hind site there may be some ego preservation in order. If activity stopped on March 10 and on March 21 or whenever he capitulated on airlines... Not that airlines are investment worthy, but broadly speaking when one, according to the timeline, should have been backing up the truck, Warren already had packed up his belongings and was speeding away....that has to be embarrassing as a professional investor, regardless of how seasoned or successful you are. Add doubly to the problem, the businesses he and most of us know and love well were completely decimated by this and still look shoddy, meanwhile the ones he doesnt know or understand well hold up tremendously and even rebound right back to highs. For these reasons I think there is good likelihood he gives a materially negative market outlook that may in the short term move markets a little bit. At least this is how I read the tealeaves and positioned myself going into the weekend.

"Private investor" is a joke anyone who's been on a company earnings call will get. Its been especially annoying lately with the virtual AGM's. Operator "what company are you with?" .... A lot of folks doing this just tell people they are freelance consultants. That often is enough to satisfy surface level small chat. Its also open ended enough to give yourself generalized talking points should someone keep hammering away. Eventually if you want, you can take this to a response that will stump and or make the other personal feel stupid enough not to ask anymore questions.

"Private Investor"