Xerxes

Thanks. Clearly I didn’t remember correctly. just hope the table is back

Last year in the letter, Buffett removed the usual table with top ten positions. It was presumed (after the Tokyo trip) reason being to hide the increasing ownership of the 5 Japanese companies. Not sure if that assumption had any merit, unless he was going to basket them as one line item. Or maybe one of them was showing up as the 10th largest holding and he didn’t want to show just one. in any case, I would love to see the table back in this year’ letter. And for him to put the Japanese investment in context with the rest. Yes, one can do that on its own. But prefer to see it from the master.

Thank you John. I will receive the book in a few weeks. Will comment here on its workmanship. Wanted to read the 90s and 00s letter now forever. Getting close to my goal.

I just ordered the yellow cover page book. $100 CAD Hopefully the formatting is done right. As the content is really available for free and owned by BRK. So we are really buying for proper formatting and neatness.

1) Constellation Software 2) HEICO 3) American Tower 4) Moody's 5) Berkshire 6) Old Dominion 7) XPO Copart 9) Brown & Brown 10) Dino Polska just shamelessly stealing ideas from other sources. I am not expert on any of these. the last one came up in a few podcast.

Much like investment track record which is meaningless over a year or two, and that it needs to be shown consistent on a very long term, I would say when it comes to geopolitics, right/wrong compass and morality as expressed by individuals also needs to be consistent over the long term. It cannot be that sometimes, it is very black-and-white Tolkienish talking up the moral compass angle, and sometimes it is realpolitik donning the Kissingerian hat and sometimes it is just total ignore because we cannot be bothered, because it is not exciting enough or the victims look different. Then again we are all imperfect humans. So we cannot expect to have perfect points of views.

Blackmail. Pure and simple.

be safe

ask Chris about Cuban missile crisis

True Detective Season 4 trailer looked very icy and cold. I am waiting for the weekend. It is going to be -20 where I am. So that I can watch it an enjoy it. wont be like -50 as I heard Western Canada will be. But that will do

This one is interesting. It was not Trump election per say (as a investment related to the presidential cycle) but rather that “the animals spirits” being released after a decade of Obama-doldrum was going to move long term yield. So the long-dated portfolio was liquidated in late 2016. Saved bunch of money on that initial move. But it took YEARS for the long rates to actually inch up. It took a global pandemic to truly let loose the animal spirits. Just like it took a World War to pull the 1930 economies out of the doldrums of depression. So Prem was right in 2016 but also too early

agreed. but it was advertised as such that it was Lucasfilm loss for missing out on this supposed great Zack’ story. And that Netflix now got it. Check mate Walt Disney !!! I rather watch the Mandelorian 10 times in a row over and over than be subjected to 10 min of Rebel Moon.

I ll take Zack Snyder’s 300 Spartans going after those villainous Persians any day over this Rebel Moon abomination.

I watched as well. Thank you. most hilarious non believable moments: - the Koreans got into the act - the backstory of the “CEO” - the scammers being scammed by the “law firm” - “time served” verdict conclusion: - it seems in Florida you can do whatever you want.

thanks. I was enthused by the story that the director (Zack) had pitched this to Lucasfilm but they had rejected it. And now Zack Synder was going to release that story on Netflix. Big loss for SW. I watched 30 min to find out that this is garbage. I was giving it benefit of doubt given that I like Zack. then they threw in another story on the net that there is a R-rated version. And stay tuned for that. Yeah. Whatever

The Thai government even floated the idea of having Chinese police in Bangkok. To make the country “more safe” for Chinese. i don’t know how that came about. Now that is an explicit breach of sovereignty saw a lot of Germans in Chiang Mai. Probably “giving back” to Thailand, given how much money the crown prince is throwing around in Germany. I am told this is touchy subject for the Thai.

@Spekulatius I think the more appropriate term would be “Phuketgrad” and not “Phuketstan” Contrary to popular belief the “stans” of the former of Soviet Union are not terms such because “Stan” is Russian for the “land of …l“ I can say that in Farsi we call England, as “Ingalistan”, we call India as “Hindustan” etc. so I think “Stan” has Persian and probably Urdu roots. And Afghanistan and Pakistan (the other “stans”) were never formal Russian territory. Perhaps @Dinar can chime in. Here is a quick Google search.

Thanks when I went in November I actually went to Chiang Mai. I wanted to see the north. So skipped Phuket. I think that needs a dedicated trip of island hopping. I don’t think I saw much Russians in Chiang Mai, but saw a lot of Israelis. I agree with your comments about Bangkok food. If you forget for a moment the smoky cars and the heat, it is a fantastic city with style. They are extremely service oriented.

I ll add this about the flat dividend : in some ways not being a typical dividend grower (aristocrat) has probably been hugely beneficial letting the team focus on real tangible opportunities (waiting for the phone to ring) as oppose to doing annual gymnastic to please the “aristocracy” and keeping them happy with the annual predictable growth. It is a family office, they think like it and act like it. I like the approach. And happy to be riding along.

@Viking Not to nitpick on your post, but when we say TSR, don’t we mean (dividend and capital gain) and not (dividend and buyback) ? I think the latter is more from a company point of view. Typically called “total return” as oppose to “total shareholder return”. Ex: If a company reduces its share count by half over a decade, pays no dividend and the stock price is flat for the same 10 years (for whatever reason), the TSR is zero, while total return from the company is the aggregate dollar amount of buyback ? No ?

I ll just add that Panama Canal also has some issues related to lack of fresh water that is usually used to lift the ships in the docks. So these uncorrelated issues are just compounding on each other.

This is “signalling” more than anything else. And giving something tangible back to long term holders. Even more reason to stay around. Go back 25 years the dividend use to be $5 USD. At one point it was raised to $10 USD, and it stayed there, when the company was able to sustain a higher payout. I cannot complain on a job well done.

There goes your share buyback. makes sense though if the earnings are indeed structurally higher so should be the distribution.

I suppose I can buy the book with the yellow cover that goes to 2014 and print the ones from 2015-2024 and staple it myself to the book

Here is mine. I barely change much year over year. I don’t use any ETF or funds. Just direct equities. And don’t do trims and shavings. The first four cover 45% of the portfolio Asset managers: FFH/FIH 17% Berkshire 12% BN/BAM and subs. 8% Onex 7% Resources: Exxon. 6% Barrick. 3% Stelco. 2% Oxy. 1% Technology: Amazon. 8% Alphabet. 7% Mercadolibre. 4% IAC et al. 2.5% Operating businesses: Couche Tard. 5% RTX. 5% Walt Disney. 3.5% GM. 2.5% Bombardier. 2.5% Starbucks. 1%