DooDiligence

That book on front running by Fritzell is about this very thing.

Voting will remain open until we reach a landslide decision on clueless douche.

Holy crap. I don't think you can do that in Numbers. Giggity, where's my caramel macchiatto?

Sweet jesus, thanks for reminding me that I'm capable of being like Donald Trump if he ever became self aware. Not quite as needy now & more importantly no longer celebrating getting laid off by being high 24/7. Yay? --- Oh and death to non-innovators & pure profiteers with no real function in healthcare? CVS could become the 1st healthcare superstore (besides all the hospitals, that is.)

Should have been called The Intelligent Speculator https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077GSVSQP/ref=oh_aui_d_detailpage_o01_?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Just started it last night & really like it.

They should hire Masayoshi Son.

Seems like a less compelling version of Watsa's shareholder letter.

Simplicity + portability + free. It meets my needs. Excel's overkill for what I'm doing. I ported over to Numbers & Pages a long time ago & never looked back. Don't know if it includes the functionality you need though.

Is it possible that you're explaining two independent and largely unrelated situations with one framework? I totally am & thanks for making me aware of the distinction. My answer to any friend who asks me about bitcoin is "always try to understand what you're putting your hard earned into." I've asked each of them to read up on crypto$ & then teach me because I totally don't understand it & am not willing to put in the time to learn. I told a buddy of mine's kid who's a finance major, that if he could convince me I'd toss a little cash his way. (rkbabang graciously provided me with a great set of reference links which I passed on to the kid but so far, nobody's reported back & as I said before, I'm not willing to put in the time to, oh crap; do I really have to read up on this?) --- You're also right about my dismissing something due to bias & I would add, my own ignorance (I'll remain blissful on this one...)

Nearly every friend I have has asked me about cryptocurrency & these are people who've asked about investing in the past & when I start with "think of stocks as an ownership stake in a biz" their eyes glaze over.

I've had 3 lists over at Morningstar (a free account) for a while now & get daily emails for each. The news blurbs attached to each email is scant & repetitive but seeing EOD price action makes it worthwhile. SA provides a more significant news feed for watch lists but I don't get email alerts. Keeping the 2 platform lists in sync is relatively easy since I add or subtract tickers infrequently (it is a tiny chore though...) None of this may help if you're looking for automatic SS updates.

Kind of a fork in the discussion but what are your thoughts on fingernail supplements? I asked a surgeon recently & he said Biotin. After a little reading, it appears that it's the only nutrient with evidence based results (true or false?) My thumb & pinky nails are super strong but my index, ring & FU nails are kind of bendy (no cracking or splitting, just weaker.) I bought a bottle of Spring Valley Hair, Skin & Nails gummies with 2500 mcg of Biotin (most of what I read said that this is a sufficient dose.) The product also contains 15 mg of vitamin C & 15 IU of E. Nail health is super important to me right now & I haven't started taking it yet because I just had inguinal hernia surgery (left & right, 3 weeks apart) but I quit the pain meds yesterday & am thinking about starting this supplement today.

He talked about still managing berkie in 10 years? There's a high likelihood that he'll need to communicate his management and investment decisions with the aid of a Ouija Board... It'd be cool if he left a set of 10 envelopes labeled by year to be opened by T & T & whoever on New Years day with instructions / predictions written with fortune cookie / horoscopic accuracy. These metaphorical Ouiji boards would then be presented at annual meetings! Here's to hoping this is all a long ways off (mainly because I just like the guy...)

Well OK, since you put it that way...

A little more CVS. The Aetna purchase looks expensive today but I believe it'll work out. Less breakfast cereal & beach chairs & more Minute Clinics & medical supplies. Which insurer would WalMart try to buy if they were so inclined? I think CVS has an edge on becoming a healthcare superstore where WalMart won't be able to focus.

Interesting that he doesn't mention the tech crash in 2000. "The Panic of 1907: When the Knickerbocker Trust Company failed, after a brazen attempt to manipulate the stock market led to a disastrous run on the banks, the Dow lost nearly half its value in weeks. Only billionaire J. P. Morgan was able to save the stock market. Black Tuesday (1929): As the newly created Federal Reserve System repeatedly adjusted interest rates in all the wrong ways, investment trusts, the darlings of that decade, became the catalyst that caused the bubble to burst, and the Dow fell dramatically, leading swiftly to the Great Depression. Black Monday (1987): When “portfolio insurance,” a new tool meant to protect investments, instead led to increased losses, and corporate raiders drove stock prices above their real values, the Dow dropped an astonishing 22.6 percent in one day. The Great Recession (2008): As homeowners began defaulting on mortgages, investment portfolios that contained them collapsed, bringing the nation’s largest banks, much of the economy, and the stock market down with them. The Flash Crash (2010): When one investment manager, using a runaway computer algorithm that was dangerously unstable and poorly understood, reacted to the economic turmoil in Greece, the stock market took an unprecedentedly sudden plunge, with the Dow shedding 998.5 points (roughly a trillion dollars in valuation) in just minutes." I missed that. Does seem like it should be included. I'll pass, got a pile of stuff to read anyway.

Anyone read this book by Scott Nations? It's on the daily deals today for $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M0TH9VL/ref=s9_acsd_hps_bw_c_x_6_w?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-2&pf_rd_r=B8FQFBCP0D0SMBEQ0F1V&pf_rd_r=B8FQFBCP0D0SMBEQ0F1V&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=e709c2ec-0e6b-4a96-b272-5ee009db567a&pf_rd_p=e709c2ec-0e6b-4a96-b272-5ee009db567a&pf_rd_i=11552285011

I picked up a used 2015 Kenny Hill Estudio series classical (low end Chinese model) & have been playing it for a week now. You could spend a lot more money for a lot less guitar (incredibly beautiful instrument too.) The founder gives an interesting & detailed account of how he accomplished this. http://www.hillguitar.com/website/news/articles/china.html --- This article says they make around 150 guitars per year in the US & 50K a year in China. http://www.mercurynews.com/2013/01/04/made-in-the-bay-area-hill-guitars-low-tech-product-belies-the-complexities-of-modern-manufacturing/ --- For now there are NONE on Amazon & very few on eBay.

But can't you argue that these activities will always exist and hence the usefulness of cryptocurrency? Makes it harder to "follow the money" in a criminal investigation? Makes it easier to legitimize illegal gains?

Woof

Not good news for someone who's looking for a big dip to shove "all in" & free up a lot of time to study something other than equities ;) Thanks for the illumination (once again.)

Oh snap, I was looking at the wrong thread (or rather prolonging the agony for others by discussing there.) The "there" I speak of is the "What are you buying today" thread.

Thanks 4 pointing out the diffs (I should not have even said T or BV.) I've got this thing stuck in my head about looking at the market cap of a company & comparing it to the cost of replicating the business & was simply confusing myself by adding BV to the thought process (that's for companies that might go bankrupt right?) Probably shouldn't go there since I'd be relying on the calculations of others regarding replacement value. --- Old hat for u & most here but: https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/12/12/understanding-the-true-value-of-warren-buffetts-be.aspx --- As to why the market cap is what it is; does the base of "A" shares keep the valuation stable? I understand that the "B" shares were largely created for gifting purposes?

Yep to you both! Oddly enuf I'm up 3.something% on the ownership stake (meaningless stat.) It's truly the ONLY company I feel totally comfortable doing this with. Market cap < replacement value --- Quick question; does the capital structure serve to hold TBV in this ridiculously low range?

BRK.B I've actually paid a little bit more every month for the past 4 months now. Anyone else who's dollar cost averaging into Berkshire should do it on the 15th of every month as it seems to always go down in the subsequent weeks after I add & then it rises to new highs again as we approach the 1st of the next month ;) (Disclaimer: Whoever doesn't know to ignore my advice is in pretty sad shape.)