NormR

I liked about 1/2 of what he had to say about value. But there were a few stinkers in the other half. The analysis of P/B quintiles & recovery time was wacky. He assumed a growth rate going forward from the crash instead of actually looking at what happened. I'll post a mini-article after I finish my taxes. But here's a graph that refutes his notion that it took 41 years for high B/P to catch up to low B/P stocks (attached) ...

Watsa response to a buyback question.

FFH's prior 20%+ buybacks were mentioned at the meeting as a tantalizing possibility. Oh, and a $25 dividend. ;D (Just don't expect either real soon.)

I know that lots of interesting stocks were highlighted at the different tables over sup. So, if you made a pitch for a stock, (or if you remember one) post it here for all. :D For instance, @ the drinks before the FFH dinner we got to hear about MGAM NRG SEB At the dinner Sam talked lots about SD ICO Sanjeev, as his meeting, talked about ITEX What stocks did you guys discover at the meeting(s)? ...

Zenith National Investors Lose Bid to Halt Buyout

Seems like a good time to bump this up. ;)

I though his previous 2 books were better. But then again, I only skimmed the little book.

I will say one thing about LUK's wine venture, they are open about it. You don't have to go digging around to find it. Unlike some other firms. :-X As an aside, do any analysts follow LUK? I'm used to not seeing eps estimates on tiny firms but LUK is fairly big. ??? (Mind you, this may well be a good thing.)

I agree, but I don't like to see this sort of thing either.

I assume that it is a vanity "investment". (Always my first guess when I see a vineyard in a portfolio of other stuff.) But I'd be happy to be corrected as I might be being too cynical. ;D

For what it's worth, there is currently some construction going on across the street from the Novotel.

A fine idea, the second annual, see you there. ;)

Kingsway Announces Dismissal of All Claims Against Kingsway in Pennsylvania Action

Also a very humble fellow.

I saw one quickie estimate in passing the other day. IIRC, 100+ year payback time on current models.

I had a grand time clicking on lawyer ads served up by google here. I love making the jackals pay for a good forum. ;D ;D ;D

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122226184

Well, that might be good in theory but in practice dividend paying stocks tend to outperform non-dividend paying stocks. Not sure whether there is a specific study you are referring to but wouldn't there an inherent negative bias in the "non-dividend paying stocks" sample (because most non-dividend paying stocks are unprofitable or have financial issues) that would make any study misleading? Err, um, thanks for providing a reason why. :) But you seem to interested in a more complicated question. Namely, do profitable dividend paying stocks outperform profitable non-dividend paying stocks. I don't have a study to hand for this question but it seems likely the case. (Empire building, etc) Retained earnings often generate poor returns. There are of course notable exceptions but that's why investors appreciate the BRKs&FFHs of the world. :)

Well, that might be good in theory but in practice dividend paying stocks tend to outperform non-dividend paying stocks.

I second that but via a different direction. It seems better to hold back a bit so that future annual dividend increases can be assured. That way FFH can put itself on screens/indexes used by dividend growth investors.

Ah, now that FFH is only on the TSX, will they move back to paying CDN dividends?

I'll take the credit for passing along the SNS letter to Ian but you guys have to take credit for posting it here. :) Btw, Ian is a long time FFH holder. Say hi if you spot him at this year's annual. He usually drops by to listen to Prem.

Didn't Warren do a bit of this sort of thing in his youth? ;D

It seems likely that AMZN will eventually be hit with charging sales taxes which will make it a less attractive destination for U.S. shoppers.

I'm a big FFH fan but how do you figure that the $0.7B interest/dividend income is guaranteed? Also, I think you have to expect FFH's EPS to be lumpy. Are the big gains of the last year likely to occur each and every year? I doubt it. I'd be more than pleased if they occur every few years.