NormR

One might say that things are perking up. ;)

Explain the Canadian case then.

I don't understand argument for ending mortgage tax deductability. Everyone talks about it with the assumption that it somehow contributes to inflating housing prices. I guess there are a few basic things I think that most people (who argue for ending the deduction) haven't considered: 1. Ending this deduction without ending the deduction for corporations for interest on debt will not work. You can't have one without the other. If you try to end mortgage deductions without ending corporate interest deductions, everyone will just do the equivalent of companies doing sale-leasebacks (sell their homes to corporations that can take advantage of interest deduction, and then rent it back. I don't think most people have considered this. You just have to include a tax avoidance clause to disallow the credit in related party transactions.

How about just ending (or capping) mortgage tax deductability? Or removing all/many of the loopholes.

I've been thinking about a standing desk. Can you say more about the experience?

Probably not my first choice either but it seems small and the value might be good. (It's not clear from the article.)

Thanks, I've made the correction. http://www.ndir.com/SI/articles/FFH_Dinner.pdf

I thought the $30 was way too high - but I wasn't there. Can anyone confirm the $13?

Sorry for the delay, but here's a link to my notes on the FFH Dinner. I'm happy to make modifications/corrections should they be needed.

;)

Sorry for the delay - I was KOed by a cold this week - they are being prepared.

http://www.fairfax.ca/Theme/Fairfax/files/2012%20AGM%20Slide%20Presentation_v001_f4dd72.pdf

I'll try. But my scribbling has been temporarily postponed to allow for a fun filled weekend of tax calculations. :-\

I'd like to thank everyone who came out to the Pre-Dinner event which proved to be a great start to a superb couple of days for value investors. But the real thanks should go to Sanjeev and everyone at Fairfax! A big thank you also goes out to our surprise guests who dropped by and gamely answered many of our impertinent questions. We were honoured by a visit from Francis Chou (Chou Funds), Andrew Barnard (Fairfax Insurance), and Sammy Chan (Fairfax Asia). (I still feel bad about asking Francis about RadioShack. What can I say, I was genuinely interested. There's something about a low price that does that to me.) The visit was totally unexpected and most welcome! In some ways the Pre-Dinner event was reminiscent of the intimacy of the Dinner from a few years ago. I was also surprised, and pleased, to see so many people show up early in the afternoon. At this rate we may have to start earlier next year. I also suspect that we'll pick a location closer to the Royal York next year. In addition, if you have any suggestions on how we can make it better, please let me know here or privately. But I know that everyone wants to see my "secret" compilation of stocks that were mentioned by people at the Pre-Dinner event. If you make money on any of them, please think about donating some of your gains to The Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of Canada. Stocks To Think About Before Dinner US Tickers Alliance Healthcare Services (AIQ) American International Group (AIG) Bank of America (BAC) Bank of Ireland (IRE) Capital Trust (CT) Ebix (EBIX) Hartford Financial Services Group (HIG) General Motors Company (GM) Level 3 Communications (LVLT) LIN TV (TVL) Micropac Industries (MPAD.OB) Multimedia Games (MGAM) NTS (NTS) Popular (BPOP) Saga Communications (SGA) Salem Communications (SALM) Thomas Properties Group (TPGI) Ultra Petroleum (UPL) Canadian Tickers Algoma Central (ALC) Bombardier (BBD.B) Canadian Oil Sands (COS) EGI Financial (EFH) Glacier Media (GVC) Hartco (HCI) SIR Royalty Income Fund (SRV.UN) Torstar (TS.B) World Markets Komori (Tokyo: 6349) Piramal Healthcare (Bombay: 500302) It was a great couple of days with many friendly value investors. Mind you, my portfolio might have been driven to the brink of suicide by Sam's outlook which seemed something like . Ok, I jest. Well sort of. But I'll have more to say on that when I type up some meeting notes in a few days. Until then, I think that it's fair to say that Richie Boucher from the Bank of Ireland charmed the socks off many investors at the Dinner. Be sure to keep an eye out for new Irish pubs in Toronto. I'd like to thank everyone who came out. It was great to see both old hands and new converts. You all make the FFH events special and I hope to see everyone again next year!

Why does this sound like a plan by Dr. Evil? ;)

Sounds like.

As James Montier once suggested, passive value strategies may form a ceiling rather than a floor for returns. That is, another case of expertise reducing rather than enhancing results. But it's obviously a matter of debate.

Spot on. Not a good thing.

I'm kicking them all out of the pre-dinner at 5.45 8) I'd be happy to scribble things down. But I'm not going to get never mind in trouble should we get him talking ;D FFH Pre-Dinner & Survival Guide

I can give a hand, but I might be somewhat delayed by wrapping up the pre-dinner event.

I raised my eyebrow when they threatened to arrest economists for trying to calculate inflation. Oh, and fixing the price of Big Macs to avoid bad news from the Economist's annual PP survey. :o In other words, you know your system is F'd when ...

Going out to get me some Tide :D

Hasn't modern fruit been engineered to be full of nasty fructose?

Firms already do this via DRPs/SPPs ... Whats a DRP/SPP? Sorry, dividend reinvestment plans and share purchase plans. Many brokers offer DRPs and some companies do too. Share purchase plans are a little less common but allow investors to buy shares (often in fractions to 4 decimal places) from the company every quarter/month. Usually without a fee. The Canadian Shareowner does something similar but with some small fees. There's a fairly big group of investors who love DRPs/SPPs out there

Firms already do this via DRPs/SPPs ...