Zorrofan

My fear is that the FED will intervene.....IMHO its FED intervention that will in the long run create much bigger problems than allowing a decent sized correction would. cheers Zorro

Cheers, Gio Thanks for posting this! I am excited to see what Prem can do with this as India may be the most exciting place to invest in the next few years..... cheers Zorro

Take a look at Japan's 20 year struggle with deflation...people put off purchases all the time if they think something will be cheaper later. Food? no, of course not. But larger purchases yes....and Prem is betting that deflation will be a problem as well. cheers Zorro

Buy back some Brit from OMERS? ;) Actually given how well the company has done, I wish he had put more money into it and expanded.....we need to stop selling off all these little gems and grow them, in BRK like fashion..... my $0.02 cheers Zorro That assumes that incremental capital can be put to work in the business at good returns. That is not always the case. You are correct, and that was my assumption. My continuing hope is that FFH continues to follow WEB into buying and holding great companies forever..... cheers Zorro

Buy back some Brit from OMERS? ;) Actually given how well the company has done, I wish he had put more money into it and expanded.....we need to stop selling off all these little gems and grow them, in BRK like fashion..... my $0.02 cheers Zorro

Lance, thanks for your reply - if it is any consolation I've been raising cash too but I am starting to wonder if the FED will ever let the market correct.... cheers Zorro

Lance, As a holder of KMI I am curious why you sold? My feeling is Rich Kinder will use the current turmoil to add assets at attractive prices but I am always looking for the flaw in my reasoning. If you don't mind sharing why you sold? thanks Zorro

My guess is that Prem wants to keep dilution at a minimum and will pay for the remaining 29.9% out of profits from BRIT...... cheers Zorro

A bit more info..... http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/omers-to-buy-30-stake-in-brit-from-fairfax/article23964950/ Is FFH looking to OMERS as a partner much like BRK and 3G?? Not that OMERs would run it but they could be a source of funds like BRK is to 3G....... cheers Zorro

MKL invested in this fund too, they would pay the same fees no? So I can't see them being willing to under-perform the index. Or am I missing something?? cheers Zorro

+1 love it.....

i realize that however there is the opportunity cost of not redeploying your capital, which is what original mungerville was referring to. WEB also added $5 billion for this deal. I am simply saying that I am fairly confident that this will grow more than many seem to be expecting. I could be wrong but only time will tell... cheers Zorro

IMO this is a stock with a muted downside and potential for positive upside surprises. Not in a hurry to sell, but would if a better idea came along. Why go to cash when you could earn 7-10% a year in a stock that will likely be a buffer in a down market? I don't disagree - this is why I bought in the first place. However, you could buy Berkshire which has more diversification and do the same return. My main point is that I wouldn't get too excited about this thing at this valuation. You raise some very good points but at the same time I find it hard to believe that 3G and WEB are doing this to earn 5% to 7% over the next 5 years...... cheers Zorro

Not to worry, I bought a very modest amount today, therefore the price should drop by Monday at the latest.....your welcome cheers Zorro

Does the $1.5B in synergies include the benefit from refinancing high yield debt and BRK preferred? From my understanding the savings from refinancing are in addition to the $1.5B in synergies, but i could be wrong. My guess is 3G beats that figure either way..... cheers Zorro

what's up with the share price today? it is a pretty hefty premium at this point! cheers Zorro

This might be a cheap source of funding for another acquisition in Europe?? cheers Zorro

I do believe that WEB has stated that in ten to twenty years BRK will be paying a dividend. Not sure if that was on CNBC or in the letter this year...... cheers Zorro

Uh....the combined ratio was 90.8 in 2014 versus 92.7 last year, so they actually had an underwriting profit. As far as stock picking goes, they have averaged stock returns something like twice the S & P over the last 15 years or so.......i'm a bit confused by your comments http://www.fairfax.ca/news/press-releases/press-release-details/2015/Fairfax-Financial-Holdings-Limited-Financial-Results-for-the-Year-Ended-December-31-2014/default.aspx cheers Zorro

http://www.wsj.com/articles/warren-buffetts-berkshire-hathaway-plans-debut-euro-bond-sale-1425466409?mod=yahoo_hs cheers Zorro

could not have said it better.....RIP

Thanks for the breakeven maths. Don't forget, though, that these are saleable securities. We need a deflation scare, in which people are prepared to pay silly money to buy protection off Watsa, more than we need deflation. China's currency is pegged to the US dollar, which has been rising. This results in a rising Yuan versus other Asian currencies. If China decides to loosen the peg or outright devalue we could see some serious deflation.....thoughts? cheers Zorro

I read this in a recent Seeking Alpha article on the deflation trap southern European countries like italy find themselves in "For Italy it is slow torture. Contractionary policies have already pushed the debt ratio from 116pc to 133pc of GDP in three years. Each one percentage point fall in Italian inflation forces the country to increase the primary surplus by 1.4pc of GDP to meet EMU rules, according to the Bruegel think-tank in Brussels. Yet to act on this imperative is to thrust the economy further into a self-reinforcing downward slide." First we had Japan begin the process of devaluation, we now have a muted attempt in Europe (how far will Germany let Mario go?), can China and the rest of Asia be far behind? As someone who actually lives in Italy it would be interesting to get Gio's thoughts on the situation in Italy. Does the whole world have 20 years of "Japan" to look forward to?? cheers Zorro

Gio, Why do you think Lancashire is so "Brindle" dependent? Surely the management team even ex-Brindle is still very good and should do well once the cycle turns?? Look forward to your thoughts... cheers Zorro

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanuka, or for those inclined have a festive non-denominational holiday occasion