Xerxes

This really REally good. That is what we call. Good script, good acting. Show me something like that on Netflix

CP will have some headwinds with this new trade whatever it is going to be. No ? GE had a clear thesis. The break-up. But for CP, the rational of Kansas City needs to shine through

Just like Microsoft cashed in at some point on its investment on Facebook so did Siemens on the airport. At the end Microsoft didn’t invest in FB as an asset manager would with an eye to generate IRR on its FB stock performance. At some point, Siemens has finished planting its technology seeds, and holding on the asset within its four walls doesn’t give them a good IRR, which only means that it becomes available for a new investor with a different four walls, IRR and time horizon. just assets exchanging hands.

Siemens is Siemens. It is not there to make directional bet on infrastructure assets using its balance sheet. Now unto some comparable transactions. Link below talks to GIP, Blackrock, their investment in Sydney Airports and the ones in UK. https://www.netinterest.co/p/hard-assets

it happened and you are correct. technically look-through is at a smaller %.

Thank you John. Longest night is just a few weeks away, than it is downhill from there, slow at first and then suddenly While longest night only few weeks away, we (in Canada anyways) usually hit rock bottom in February on the mental side, that is when we start booking summer vacation to make us feel better

Happy thanksgiving. cheers !

It is hard to imagine a financial institution buying back for the sake of increasing the % ownership of its largest investor which happens to be foreign at that. stock buyback does tend to benefit institutional investor than retail, even though the economics are identical. what does an old retire tells his wife when he needs to spin a story as to how his “ownership” increase is a good thing as oppose to actual cash dividend. it is possible that some years down the road Eurobank may do large buyback as a private placement between it and Fairfax.

Iran-Iraq War 1980-88 Both sides were gung-ho for first 3-4 years. By year 7 or 8, exhaustion sets in. I was born in 1980. When I got to be 8 years old, that is when the war ended.

I read the book Godfather some years ago along with the book Sicilian which covers the same universe with the Don. Interestingly the book Godfather fully covers the events of the first movie + all the flashbacks of the second movie. All the “present scenes” of Godfather II and the whole of Godfather III, which came decades later, is nowhere to be found in Godfather original literature.

Thanks Haryana, Was watching a video on YouTube, it was saying how the specs of this *new* intermediate ballistic missile are within what was banned under Intermediate Treaty in 1987 which was torn apart during the first Trump administration, heavily pushed by John Bolton. In hindsight, unless I am mistaken (as I am no expert) this events vindicate the decision to set aside the 1987 treaty by Trump. Kremlin may have been abiding by the letter of the 1987 law, but not in the spirits of the same law. Oreshnik must have been developed during 1987 ban, with specs just within what was permissible, and an easy jump to upgrade once the treaty was no more. Reminds me of Treaty of Versailles that limited the German armed forces to no more than 100,000 men. A small number for then 1930s armies. But those restrictions were easily bypassed by a clever General Staff, by keep rotating new troops and doing early retirement, while keeping under 100,000 men. Do that five or six times, you have 500,000 and 600,000 trained, standing de facto army, ready to put on the uniform once the treaty is torn apart.

Don’t know where to put this. just for discussion purposes. I am slowly crawling my way through Buffett letters staring 1990. I skipped the 1970s and 80s as I cannot relate to the companies he talks about. I am now in 2004. There is passage where he makes the case as to why Berkshire owned a kingly sum of $21.4 billion in foreign currencies. Twelve of them at that. Twenty years later, the deficit is even larger. Today, his position in Japan could be akin to his views back in the day. Yet, the size of its foreign holdings today is very small to its large U.S. based holdings. It seems to me that it was huge in the early 2000s.

The last Iranian leader who put 40,000 to sword in one go, died hundreds of years ago. His name was Nadir Shah. But you are right he would (should be) there on ICC list if he were still alive. He and his entire military high command. I think we had a few more magnolamic under the Qajars as well. Hamas is there. Where they belong. Or did you not know that already. You are pretty detail oriented, surprised you missed that and surprised the two previous replies didn’t point that out either. Somewhat comical that folks (on the Russia thread) talks about the greatness of post-1945 world Liberal order, and its institutions, how we must fight Russia to the death to preserve it, …… ICC is part of that post-1945 world order. Why are folks even bringing up ICC here if it doesn’t matter ?

Kinzhal are indeed air launched modified version of Iskanders, that were marketed as “hypersonic”. Zircon are a different matter. And not many of them have been used. Overall the Patriot defense system has been impressive. But the hit rate is contingent on full salvos. So high hit rate per battery but low hit rate per launcher. https://missilethreat.csis.org/missile/kinzhal/ https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-unstoppable-hypersonic-missiles-had-another-bad-night-ukraine-says-2024-11 Ukrainian Commander in Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi disclosed in August that Russia had launched 111 Kinzhal missiles since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022 and that Kyiv had managed to shoot down 28 of them — an interception rate of just 25%. Syrskyi said Russia had used the Zircon missile only six times. Two of the munitions were shot down, while the other four struck civilian targets, Ukrainian media reported. The statistics on intercepts for these missiles appear higher now, but only slightly. "Ukraine claims a 25% interception rate for hypersonic Kinzhal and Zircon missiles, but Ukrainian sources also indicate such interceptions require salvo firing all 32 launchers in a US-style Patriot battery to have any chance to shoot down a single hypersonic missile," the institute wrote in a September report.

Most ballistic missiles are hypersonic during descent. The terminology is not new, but used often in marketing. It just question of how hyper-hypersonic it is. And if it glides before final descent, which most don’t. I think more reading is needed here.

Thanks. He seems to repeat more the same. Keeping cards close to the chest. I have heard that $7B before and $7B so many times. it is funny how the video froze exactly at that moment. great hostess, btw, thinking fast on her feet

Best example would be Bill Miller considering Amazon deep-value in the late 1990s and paying up. He was not pitching it as a “growth investment”, a term that is more associated with the big technology names today.

if you are ever in QC for a visit, do let me know. I ll arrange to meet with you.

The first episode of Part 2 Yellowstone is so badly written, directed and edited. right off the bat, within the first 5 min, I knew something was off. Maybe due to Hollywood strike.

that leaves the Block !

great cover page

All good. looking forward to see you start the 2025 thread in the next few weeks, to get ideas going around. I think Dinar had a whole bunch.

congrats to you and all the FFH bros ! well done