DooDiligence

Desire for gain or fear of loss One leads to the other

I've never thought about this (thanks for bringing it up...) http://philosiblog.com/2011/07/01/if-you-only-have-a-hammer/ ----- This recent thread is interesting as well... http://www.cornerofberkshireandfairfax.ca/forum/general-discussion/my-new-formula-predicts-a-73-2-move-by-friday-your-details-inside/

I laughed, I cried (the "feel good post of the year...")

That's probably the best way to do it...

A bit off topic, but have you looked at BEAN? Think pampered chef for kid's clothes. I owned the shell company Noront (NOR) which did a reverse merger with BEAN. Sold some but not all of the BEAN I got because I am intrigued with the business model. I think it is pretty damned expensive and not bombed out at all however. It is early days with their growth strategy so time will tell. Just downloaded SEDAR filings & IR presentations (interesting at first glance - thanks...)

I'd like to start an idea factory here in a distressed sector... I've been looking at retail clothiers a lot over the past month or so & the Buckle has always stood out but... Most retailers are being forced to initiate online channels (no surprise here) & those who are most effective with omni channel will probably survive. Buckle's online sales declined significantly in the last Q & management says that's due to lower unit pricing (through discounting...) They've had a long stated policy of not doing promotional pricing & yet a recent visit to their local store showed big "Sale" signs in the front windows & 3 sale racks in the front of the store which IMO should have been in the back of the store. Buckle has relied on getting clients (not customers) who want to feel catered to (they're buying off the rack but with a tailored experience) & they rely on an aggressive sales force to make this happen. If you want to stand out in a club, they definitely have jeans you won't find anywhere else & this is what they built the business on. BTW every clothier in the mall had "SALE" signs & multiple discount racks (if retailers are able to specifically source product with "faux" promos in mind OK, but if they're losing margin from unplanned promos...) Read the latest BKE earnings call transcript (in particular, the pointed questions asked by Ujjval Dave...) If they were a bit more nimble with omni channel & had strong brand awareness (particularly as a high end jeans manufacturer) & were vertically integrated with manufacturing capability (unique & stylish jeans "made in America") I'd be more excited about the future (but I remember Merry Go Round.) In all my research, I chose the children's (new born to 8 yo) clothing space (lower price points & toddlers are cute as heck in nearly anything.) This is also an area of intense competition & promotions but it was easier to compare & the promotional price points are all very similar (Carters / Oshkosh, Childrens Place & Gymboree.) My choice of Carter's is due to low single digit declines in bricks & mortar with same store increases in new concept dual store formats (Carter's & Oshkosh) & the fact that Oshkosh is way behind Carter's & IMHO has room to grow. Their omni channel initiatives are showing strong increases & a new GA warehouse designed for online & ship to store, plus a new Amazon fullfilment program beginning now, will hopefully support these efforts. Plans to roll out around 40 to 50 stores between Canada & the US over the next 5 years & 1 new store in China with another coming online in the 1st few months of 2017 (management says they'll go very slow in China as they are aware of others getting beaten up there.) Children's Place does as good a job as Carters but they've had a really big run up over the past year & I like Carter's numbers better (Gymboree didn't impress me at all & Old Navy was poorly merchandised as well.) Ralph Lauren has a very nice line (expensive & very little promotional pricing...) I'm not creating a thread specific to either of these companies but hopefully a few will spring up... (Also looking at more vertically integrated Hanes & VF Corp) Does anyone think that manufacturing capabilities will be important in the new retail environment?

Kindle Paperwhite for books & iPad for K's, Q's, proxies, etc. (almost zero paper.) Back porch, comfortable chair in the living room & bed...

Trump should have taken Art of the Deal out of print...

Amen. آمن

Doh, several feet. I have probably about 50ft of books I haven't read... 8) :-\ The pile rarely shortens (as long as titles get replaced regularly, it's all good.)

Are you still holding the 3 for more?

I stand corrected... Do you think the book is sufficiently encapsulated in CPG Grey's vidis?

Obama used mind control

$2.99 for Kindle https://www.amazon.com/Dictators-Handbook-Behavior-Almost-Politics-ebook/dp/B005GPSLHI/ref=lp_6165851011_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1486138330&sr=1-4 ----- By the same guys who brought you this wonderful YouTube vidi (1st intro'd here by Liberty) ----- the authors/producers follow up to the above vidi

I think he does these (if he still does them) because he enjoys the exercise...

Genius but like Meohistopheles said, this could encumber an estate. How about selling it to one of those "will work for food" guys? To the OP - Are there any restrictions on transfer of ownership?

I used eBay to get rid of one of these for my Mom & Dad years ago. As RK said, you gotta pay up to get rid of it. Arson might be another alternative...

I'm with no_free_luch here. To me, [by that phrase I mean: It's not for discussion on this board, how I perceive this topic], it's just [yet another] political board spam topic. Let's all go back to discuss investing. ++ for yours & AzCactus's suggestion

I heard there's a vidi on the net of Hillary peeing on the Donald (she told him she'd throw the election if he'd let her do it...)

+1

Restraining the impulse to dash off poorly thought out & reactive posts. Paying attention to intelligent authors (pro & contra my own thoughts) in order to mold & shape myelf. Resisting the impulse to think I'm always right. A set of challenges that I pass & fail constantly...

I like "Angry Turds" better...

Here's a shot of a nice buffet at the weekend market in Bangkok (the grasshoppers were pretty tasty...)

+++++! Buffett / Munger for the next cycle

Thanks to all! I've always been attracted to the "sister..." if I get a shot at the red dress later; awesome, but the sister is pretty hot!