Myth465

I have been in investing for 4 years, and have never owned Berkshire for the same reason.

I am hoping for a pullback and wish I still owned OdysseyRe. It looks like FFH is positioning themselves for the turn, and has covered their major investment risks. One can buy and hide out a storm here quite comfortably. Hopefully they are still over reserving. Reinsurance - OdysseyRe 92.2

I am hoping for a sell off :). I almost bought AHL but thought about it and would prefer FFH under book.

You are correct, amongst all of this chatter I have decided to buy LUK. Now I want a pullback but may cave and buy prior to earnings. It seems like its time to batten down the hatches and move further up on the Management quality. One sleeps easy at night holding LUK with that decent cash pile. They can finally take advantage of a pullback if we get one.

Less is more, much more. Need time to think.

I still kicking myself for not buying at $25.

Seems like a smart transaction. That much float can act as a liability in the wrong hands, right now its earning nothing vs 5% - 6% some years ago.

We seem to redo a version of this thread every few weeks :)

I think Rent vs. Buy works for a family or a lifer at a job. Mobility and opportunity cost dont get a consideration in those calcs. Those who own in Michigan probably would like to move for better employment ops.

Yes, Houston has not quite recovered from S&L / Oil Crisis. My folks bought houses for $15k - $20k during that period. They held them too long and should have sold out for $70k or so during the boom. Houses were probably built for $75k and sold for $110k in 2005 - 2010 and you can buy them for $75k - $85k today. The issue is all appreciation is in the Loop and Houston has limitless amounts of land for new building. I am a bit spoiled and dont want the headaches, but I want to buy some properties at some point with my Brother. Maybe each put in $10k and buy a number of properties for tax losses. Its been in the works for a while, but I havent seen anything screaming yet. Should rates move up and values move down, I dont want to be left holding the bag. Its a good deal, but I want a great one. Perhaps I am being greedy. Also I would likely be the financial backstop should renters move out or destroy everything. I dont like the thought of dealing with an unexpected cash call, but I guess thats what Savings and Margin is for. ---- Also Houston kills your hopes of buying realty anywhere else. You could grab a huge property in Prime location here for $300k which makes the NE and West Coast seem nuts. In Houston at the height of the crisis, it was probably still better to buy then rent. The issue is some people bought a bit too much home.

Houston is pretty decent regarding returns. In Suburbs and ok areas you can buy a house for $60-$80k (within 3-5 years old), and rent it out for $800-$1000 or so. You could probably put as little down as 3%. My issue is you are not likely to see much appreciation for a number of years. My issue is I want amazing returns to deal with the headaches. Stocks dont call you with broken ACs and Toilets. I also dont see that blood in the street moment. The final problem is I would prefer higher rates and lower housing prices. I am watching though.

I am raising cash, I think one bump and we go down. I dont know how big the correction will be, but 10% - 20% cash does help a man sleep at night.

If you don't have a linux distro in mind, I'd suggest Linux Mint. It's based on Ubuntu, but has all the multimedia drivers and whatnot already installed. I've got it on my netbook and it works reasonably well. I prefer it to the Ubuntu netbook remix actually. Also, consider a chromium browser; firefox is a little resource hungry for a netbook. Thanks I will bookmark this. Also do you dual boot or just use Linux Mint. Slickdeals and Fatwallet show that there are a few refurb Asus models for $200 and new ones for $250. The only thing lacking from the one I am looking at is bluetooth, which I dont use on my main PC. cwericb, I think you are right and we will see some excellent Black Friday deals, and will also see some deep discounting on the older models.

Parsad you are rubbing off (is that a good thing or a bad thing :)). I agree with just about everything you wrote plus Prem would not likely have an issue with the salary. I think Klarman and Berkowitz would. I doubt Munger has significant insights into BYD. I think its similar to me and FUR or Loews or something. Its just a bet on Management and Technology working out. I also think BYD may be another Coke (another investment they cant really sell), due to all the media attention. POSCO seemed like a better deal because they can get out when they want.

I have a full copy of Windows 7 somewhere, and was auctually looking forward to trying a version of Linux on it to deal with the performance issues. Thanks Cwericb.

I am actually redigging into BAM. I noticed on the investor day presentation, they are hoping to streamline things, I forgot about the Brazil exposure and it seems like a decent way to get in. BAM though has changed quite a bit since I owned it in 2008. Should be fun to research.

not bad, looks like the loss was minimized to court fees (did FUR pay full price for the $10 million or was it from Concord?) and Ackman got some more publicity.

cwericb, thats what I was thinking. I have a work trip abroad that has an hour car ride each day, and also am thinking about a vacation in December for 2 weeks. It seems like it will be quite useful for $200. I may have to just try one out for 1 month or so.

Ballinvarosig Investors this is what I fear, it will be cool at first and then will collect dust. Though I hate the screensize on my phone and would love a 9 hour battery life.

I think Chanticleer has had 4 insurance buyouts over the last year or so.

Lol - Im cheap.

I feel as though I am getting older and technology is passing me by. I need some sort of device and am thinking of getting a netbook for planes, car rides, and what not. I dont read enough away from the computer to justify an ereader though maybe it would help on the eyes. Really an Android device that played movies, surfed the web, and what not would be perfect. What do you all think of netbooks.

What the hell is going on. Did someone fat finger something. I kind of want to cash out now, is there a buyout or something. Someone must have had a market order or something.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/17/opinion/17buffett.html Today people who hold cash equivalents feel comfortable. They shouldn’t. They have opted for a terrible long-term asset, one that pays virtually nothing and is certain to depreciate in value. Indeed, the policies that government will follow in its efforts to alleviate the current crisis will probably prove inflationary and therefore accelerate declines in the real value of cash accounts. Equities will almost certainly outperform cash over the next decade, probably by a substantial degree. Those investors who cling now to cash are betting they can efficiently time their move away from it later. In waiting for the comfort of good news, they are ignoring Wayne Gretzky’s advice: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.” --- Munger does it feel as though he is speaking directly to you. Again he seems fairly consistent, a bit nuanced but consistent.

Munger what are his other options for the average investor? Buy bonds? Buy gold? Hot commodities? Private Equity? Hold cash and time the market? He isnt talking to himself and he knows that, this is Joe and Jane six pack. I feel as though you are trying to reconcile Buffett's words with your actions and not to his own other words. Its a worthy goal, but the title of the thread should be changed.