Myth465

As I said some of you all are looking for reasons why instead of just looking at the facts. I have seen this man defended through thick and thin. No matter what he does someone comes up with a BS rational to explain it away. I dont see that with other CEOs on the board. Every other company / CEO is either pressed or taken to the woodshed based on their actions. I feel as though everyone is looking for the next Buffett and they are willing to take anything in order to "get in early". I guess thats what makes a market. I guess he will walk on water until he simple doesnt one day. Im impressed, a few years in the game and he is already compared to all of the great capital allocators of the last 30 years. One thing is for sure, I need to work on my writing. A few good shareholder letters and years of performance go very far in this business.

I think we all know the reason for the dividend and its a non issue. I also think buybacks arent very possible or likely given the float and amount that trades. FFH will likely continue buying insurers which is fine by me (as long as they can get the right one).

I think you guys see what you want to see. Parsad has laid it out very nicely. BH is fairly valued and run by a greedy guy who doesn't view you as a partner (regardless of what he says). I may invest one day but this is not an Owner Manager stock and I will need a margin of safety. I guess that's what makes a market. I wouldnt invest in a hedge fund at book value, and wouldnt invest in restaurants trading at 10x CF. Thats really all I see here.

Looking forward to that announcement twacowfca

I agree, I dont take less than 10% when taking market risks. With that said I hold a few reits which I hope are revalued at a 5% yield ;). MLPs are also overpriced. Its very logical, and I wish I had picked up on it prior to selling LXP and HRP.

Yield. If you manage a pension fund or anything that requires yield 5% on a REIT looks very good right now.

As the title says. For me my biggest hit in 2010 was ATSG. It went from $2 to $8, and I was adding along the way. My biggest flop was easily KSP. Very obvious situation overlooked with them. ----- Going forward my top idea for 2011 is probably ATPG. I also feel good about ATSG, SD, and WDC.

Someone can have my shares right now for $3 ;).

Call me crazy but I think FFH is fairly priced given the underwriting numbers and the pricing of other "higher quality" insurers (based on under writing consistency). Also for the investments Mr. Market typically only pays up once the gains are realized or marked up, so that arm of the business probably wont get much of a premium. With that said I did recently buy back and will scale things up overtime. Hopefully we have a hidden investment gain, which will cause me to ramp up a little quicker than expected.

Thanks for the link. I generally like Schilling and after listening to Peter Schiff for 6 months, I generally regard him as an idiot. I now think he got one call right and will ride that waive for a while. For one who bitches about American intervention in markets and capitalism its very interesting that he has been pounding the sand for China for the last few years. A Libertarian loving China is quite ironic. I dont think delevering is done. I think its shifted around. Moved from Corporate to Government. Consumer debt probably has dropped but inmo the mindset is the same. People are worried about layoffs and wont spend money until things stabilize. I guess they will spend but not like its 2005 or 1999.

I hear you but this is no where near the love fest Miller had. He was an investment God who could do no wrong. A decade plus streak will do that to you I guess. I still think Berkowitz is that smart quite guy in the corner no one really pays much attention to him. He rarely does interviews, and is very selective. I have really only seen him on Wealthtrack and a few other value focused mediums. Best of all I sense a bit of uncomfortableness when he is interviewed. I get the vibe he doesnt enjoy it but does it to keep his investors in the loop and for marketing. Miller seemed like he was born to do it, and really enjoyed it.

I dont have any money with Bruce but would have my entire 401k with him if my company offered his fund. Miller always seemed to prefer the fame to the game. Bruce B and Bruce Flatt really appear to have no other hobbies, and Bruce seems to hate the camera. I wouldnt worry much. Also I would have a wiener dog though he would not be able to reach the desk. Bruce doesnt seem to really care about what others think (I mean with a dog like that you cant really care about what people think). I have had one in the past and love those the personality. The contrast though would be funny as hell too. I would get a chocolate one. http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.wqed.org/tv/daves/blog/wp-content/weiner-dog2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://shoponline2011.com/p~p-1892077614~b-14010600~Fisher-Price-Loving-Family-Dollhouse-Furniture-Set---Kids-Bedroom.aspx&usg=__kry7YEdydi4fOaqkl38LLo-ypws=&h=2304&w=3072&sz=6208&hl=en&start=77&sig2=eOoZcQdXNI7IKJ8BJ5nqng&zoom=1&tbnid=-WaCoHf1QMNN8M:&tbnh=163&tbnw=209&ei=sJsCTajBEMvhnQfgxpHlDQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dchocolate%2Bwiener%2Bdog%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1920%26bih%3D838%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C1482&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=505&oei=oJsCTcyzFYKClAe58fjYCQ&esq=3&page=3&ndsp=34&ved=1t:429,r:24,s:77&tx=84&ty=73&biw=1920&bih=838

LOL Thanks FFHWatcher, I figure I can do well with distressed bonds, but you have a good point. Dividend stocks are just as good and can grow overtime. Right now I am going for capital gains but that will change should I get to a certain point.

FFHWatcher - Do you hold FI to generate your annual requirements. I figure I can earn 8% - 10% in FI so I would want about $1 million to think about quitting my job.

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. - That book has been on the reading list for quite a while. I may have to move it up.

What I dont understand is how does Berkowitz make money when the taxpayer lost money? When I add up all the paybacks I dont get close to the amount lent out.

Sorry about that for me part one was the first 30 minutes I watched that bit prior to posting. Part 2 is when Russia went South, part 3 was on emerging markets investing. Its all one big part but I mentally broke it up into separate bits.

I would prefer no more ships but Wang knows the business better then me. I guess if China slows significantly it wont matter if we stop now or just keep going.

Ok part 2 is a huge downer. Very interesting story and again the guy is very entertaining. I may have to rethink Africa lol. The part 3 features some great emerging markets advice.

I know it looks long but its really good. I am about 30 minutes in and this guy is LOL funny. Literally LOL funny (5x, He declares himself The Investment Banker for Russia, and a bunch of other moments). Makes me want to take my capital and move to Africa. Let me know what you think if you watch it, thanks Guru focus.

We both know you know the answer to this question :). Common Sense aint so Common.

I agree with your analysis, but believe we simply must join the favored class. My goal is to make Politics a Heads I win, tails I win ordeal. I think Buffett is in this boat. He can advocate for whats right but at the end of the day it doesnt effect him.

Thanks for the links. I will watch the video this weekend, and read the article just now. I think Better Place will have to focus on locking up small markets. They can pull off Israel (one car / company, small population) and some European countries but will have trouble in the US. I think it will be too expensive to stock a battery for every car type, so they would have to have some sort of standardization. Quick charge would also quickly destroy their business model and it will happen at some point (hell cell phones charge in 20 minutes it seems now). Its a shame I think their model makes alot of since. When you rent a keg you dont care what kind of keg you get as long as it works and you bring it back in decent enough shape. I could see batteries being the same, you pickup a spare on your way out or swap it out when it runs out. If you got the spare for a trip you could return it on your way back in. A keg is only $100 though, not sure how you would feel comfortable letting someone take a $8k battery. I am also sure on the swap outs you could get into a situation where people swap out cheap Chinese batteries or something like that. A lot of kinks to work out. I would focus on small markets and dictatorships.

I bought a sliver of a position today. It feels good to own FFH again, I have held since 2007 and sold 6 months ago due to my leaps.

Love him or Hate him, inmo you have to respect Obama. I really enjoyed the first 2 minutes and am looking forward to the commentary. You can tell he means well, I just wish he had more fight. To quote Bill Maher, he needs Bush's balls. The proposed tax accord between President Obama and Republicans http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/11334 The Ericpology thread might be a tough one to find. Its buried deep in one of those long off topic political threads.