Xerxes

I would argue that Cathie Wood’ product is filling a role and that demand will continue. After all, there are folks that see the Ark ETF as a product to inject a bit of “innovation” in their otherwise dull portfolio. Those folks determine through % allocation how much spice are they getting. I see it as just a product that will continue to have demand as long as she stick with the narrative. If she changes the narrative into “oh we want to have a more balance ETF with more companies with cash flows” that is when that Ark product will lose demand. Folks don’t want diluted spice.

I am down 7% year to date (through Dec 1, 2022). Not counting crypto. I think crypto is about less than 2.5% of the stock portfolio. So whatever. I have not bought and/or sold in 2022. I was one of the fools buying the dip on my exisiting Amazon and Alphabet positions in Q1 !!! but also in Q3 (see below) However, overall net-net, the portfolio was kept afloat by Exxon, Fairfax (thanks all the commentators here), Berkshire, Starbucks, Couche-Tard, Brookfield, which offset foolish behaviour. Starbucks was a new position inititated in May-June, while the rest all multi-year existing long-term positions. I do need to check excatly what contributed by close of Dec 30. I think Berkshire has been flat all year. Planting More Seeds The timely privitazation of Atlas in Sept, provided me with fresh unencumbred US dollars (as a Canadian, a market downturn means expensive USD) which I was able to use to buy the post-September dip on Alphabet, Walt Disney, Berkshire, again Walt Disney, Amazon, all in Q3 and Q4. I would suspect the ROI on these seeds will become apparent in 2024-25, if not in 2023.

Heading to Portugal most likely in December. Trying to get to Asia or Africa in 2023 ... in some ways, it is blessing to be so close to Europe (5-6 hr flight), but also a curse as its "gravitional pull" keeps pulling me away from going too much to Asia. It took a pandamic to force me to go visit Vancouver in my own country, where people speak the same language as me, use the same currency as I do, have the same flag as I do, and where your cellphone data-plan works just fine as it is.

Well done KFS Not sure how you manage that becoming a 66% size. But that is great ! I keep trying to increase the % allocation but it keep at around 10% of overall portfolio (not counting FIH). Thanks for keep those nuclear reactors humming away. You probably have an interesting and thoughtfull view on the nuclear reactor(s) in Ukraine that turned into a hostage like situation. Perhaps this needs to go to a different thread

come on Greg !! a bit of humour on Friday. Iwasn’t suggesting BX is having run on the Bank. Even the Ark has inflows (supposedly)

@Dinar @Spekulatius B21 stealth bomber roll out live on YouTube https://youtu.be/WjfsANcgJAg

Cheers !

"Any man who must say, "I am the King", is no true king.'" --- In the eternal words of Tywin Lannister "An investment firm that says it has permenant capital, yet needs to cap redemption, has no true permenant capital" --- Xerxes Blackstone -1 Brookfield -1 Berkshire +1 Fairfax +1

Yeah. Thanks guys i did go back through Amazon. They refunded me and ask me to dispose the article since it was fraud. No need for return. As a concerned Digital Citizen i did put pressure on them to remove that seller, for copyright violation. They said it will take a few days. I haven’t check today they finally did it. I did return the note-pad anyways just to experience the return process. Extremely smooth. this was just a heads-up for book-buyers among you.

I listened to a podcast couple of weeks ago where the author was talking about a book called “Price of Time” that he wrote. And it sounded very interesting so I said let’s buy it. I saw the “paperback” version on Amazon for $12 so went for it. I get the copy and Et Voila, it is a notebook with blank pages !!! WTF. I go back on Amazon and realize that someone has cleverly created a “paperback” that got linked to the “hard copy”. but it is a phony book with the same cover page as the hard copy. They even say that it is notebook in the description so that in technical terms they are not deviating from the intent.

I watched Dooms (along with the first SW movie and Empire Strikes Back) in piecemeal format. Saw various scenes in different order on TV in the 90s. Overtime I collected most of the pieces and got a final picture on it. Yet when I saw Doom in one shot again later on in late 90s I was surprised to see that the first scene which is actually in Shanghai, I had never seen before. Same for SW, when I saw the whole movie in one shot, I realized that there was a scene before Tatoinne scene where Tentative IV is captured by Darth Vader ship. And I had not seen it. Last Crusade. I saw it like a normal human being in one shot. Raiders of Lost Arc. Saw it first on dvd in the 2000. I was not impressed.

If you live long enough, you can take another go at Indiana Jones

Either no recession or a deep recession. Given that consensus is “shallow recession”

hilarious deleted scene. so the old Maester was acting after all.

Thanks. I didn’t realize they actually expanded the “total return swap” program

“We have purchased total return swaps with respect to 1,407,864 subordinate voting shares of Fairfax with a total market value at the time of those agreements of $484.9 million ($344.45 (Cdn$443.93) per share)”. —- Feb. 2021 At $574 USD per share today’ print, that “bet-on-myself” play is worth $808.5 million USD. A nice 66% return over two years.

Very awkward

Hell in Bakhmut

How do you square capturing "industrial commodities" not directly but through related equities ("financal assets")

What I heard (don’t know where I think Economist), Surovikin’ condition to accept the top job as military commander was that there would a withdraw and consolidation east for the river by pulling out from Kherson. On Bakhmut, Wagner is actually working to gain political market share in Kremlin by bloodying itself at Bakhmut. How twisted is that

Thanks. I have forgotten that minority shareholders can short-circuit both ways: use dividends to simulate buy-back but also the reverse to create their own dividend payout. What matters for Watsa Family Office (and less so for minority shareholders) are taxes and increasing familly control.

This Friday, in a theatre near you. unrelated there has been some very interesting development with Boeing that will have long term consequences in the commercial industry at large. I will post those on Boeing thread and related articles. Quite interesting

B-21 roll out this Dec 2nd

^^^ that is 100% correct For gold it is not about inflation. It is about the differential between inflation and interest rate. There is a scenario out there where interest rate hike will peak, but inflation will be persistent. Opening the differential again and thus the bid for gold.