Granitepost

I believe SeekingAlpha stopped FFH Transcripts since and maybe because they delisted their shares in the US.

Interesting to see a very negative article entitled "More Trouble for Overstock.com" at http://seekingalpha.com/article/233956-more-trouble-for-overstock-com?source=yahoo by Sam Antar (who describes himself as "Convicted Felon"). I would tend to interpret this as being a positive omen for the long term success of OSTK.

I am sad to say that the quality of the discussions on this board have deteriorated significantly recently. The quality of this board has been extremely high in the past and it would be a shame for us to allow it to fall due to the desire of one or two members to get some attention. There seems to be a greater quantity of posts recently (probably due in some part to an increase in membership) and the time required to read the daily posts has likewise increased. I skip over all messages with excessive words capitalized in order to save time, but am wondering if there is any way we can set guidelines for appropriate content quality. Perhaps another strand would be an appropriate avenue for suggestions or perhaps Sanjeev can intercede on behalf of the board.

There are organized stock market investment games in which groups of students at various schools can compete against each other and against other schools over a period of perhaps 3 months, investing a virtual portfolio of $100,000, with restrictions such as sending in trades by a certain time so there is no cheating. This type of activity can be integrated directly into class time at senior levels where a few small groups of business students are given a chance to discuss the daily business news and look at the value of their portfolio, and discuss their strategy and possible investments. The big disadvantage of the school environment is that there is a relatively short time frame, so a focus on long term and value type investment will give way to short term day trading based on rumours, etc. with the result that perhaps the lessons taught are not the ones that should be learned. In all fairness making errors with virtual money is a big advantage if the students learn from the experience. Also, some groups get very focused on the competitive nature of such a game and spend a lot of time trying to improve their performance.

I do not recommend wasting time reading it but, if you insist, you can read it all at: http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/110510/the-decline-of-the-pe-ratio?mod=bb-budgeting&sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=

I thought the release date for the Q2 earnings was July 15, but I see no information about any release having been made on that date. The FBK web site appears to be under construction and is basically not functional. In addition, I do not see any recent indication on this board that others were expecting an earnings release so I may have been mistaken. Cheers.

Although the info does not seem complete, it appears that Gates and his Dad will appear on Wednesday, and that Buffett will also appear during this 25th Anniversary week of Larry King Live. The Thursday segment is about the Top Newsmaker but this person is not clearly identified. I presume that they are referring to Buffett. CNN states that: Larry King Live's 25th Anniversary Week Don't miss a special week of "Larry King Live." It's the "American Idol" top 10, Bill Gates, Lady Gaga, Warren Buffet and more. They're helping to celebrate 25 years of "Larry King Live." Tune in for a week full of surprises at 9 p.m. ET only on CNN. If anyone can find more details, please post. Thanks.

http://ca.news.finance.yahoo.com/s/19052010/34/biz-f-business-wire-fairfax-receives-regulatory-approval-acquisition-zenith.html The parties expect to close the transaction on Thursday, May 20, 2010. Cheers

Hi Al: Thanks for the info. Cheers

Hi Al: Doesn't the broker charge a 2% spread in each direction that would negate any benefit from the transaction? Also, do you not find that the interest rate on Canadian $ margin balances are a lot lower (2% difference) than the interest rate on US $ margin balances? Cheers

Video: http://www.megavideo.com/?v=J8XLH2O0 Notes on video: http://streetcapitalist.com/2010/05/04/li-lu-berkshire-hathaway-cio-candidate/

The latest quarter included a gain on a debt settlement, reflecting the impact of a financial restructuring completed in March.

I wonder what effect this change would have on the demand for Canadian resource companies. Although takeovers by foreign companies have left a void in Canada, there are still the large oil sands companies like Suncor, which are basically mining operations. As well as Teck, Canada has smaller metal mining companies, such as HudBay, with growing output and the potential to grow from mergers. It would seem to me that Australia's location near China as well as abundant natural resources give it an advantage over Canada, which has the resources but not the location, and it would be foolish for Australia to sacrifice their present advantage. I presume that Ericopoly may be interested in Australia's proposed tax changes as he seems to be well versed in their tax system. http://ca.news.finance.yahoo.com/s/02052010/2/biz-finance-australia-proposes-40-cent-tax-mining-profits.html

- Net earnings of $1.34 per share, earnings before items(1) of $1.59 per share - Higher pulp, paper and wood selling prices - Paper shipments increased 5.1% compared to the first quarter of 2009 http://www.domtar.com/en/investors/pressreleases/index.asp?ID=1420556

On March 2, TD Waterhouse put Torstar on their Action Buy list with a target of $10 Canadian citing its focus on community newspapers and a possible cyclical recovery in newspapers coming out of recession. It does have other businesses like Harlequin romance novels, but overall has been extremely disappointing over the last few years and I would not be holding my breath for a recovery. The market appears to be more excited than I am. See: "Torstar shares leap by double digits" at: http://www.financialpost.com/news-sectors/story.html?id=2633642 Cheers

Precision Drilling has announced plans to convert to a corporation by May 31 2010. See: http://ca.us.biz.yahoo.com/iw/100212/0586735.html?.v=1 PD also reports earnings for Q4 and full year. See: http://ca.us.biz.yahoo.com/iw/100212/0586737.html?.v=1 Revenue for Q4 was $286 milliion, up 13% from Q3 due to higher rig activity, but down 15% from Q4 2008. Earnings for 2009 were .63 per unit compared to $2.23 the prior year.

Canwest reports Q1 profit of $3.66 Canadian per share on sale of Australian assets (Ten Network Holdings). See: http://www.reuters.com/article/idCAN1311373220100114?rpc=44

"Four potential suitors are weighing a hefty investment in CanWest " See: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/canwest-draws-four-potential-bidders/article1427578/

With the price of natural gas having recovered slightly from recent lows and apparent large quantities being produced from new technologies in North America, it is easy to forget how fragile the supply of gas can be in other parts of the world. Gas is difficult to ship from one part of the world to another and hence has a market price that is much more fragmented than oil as it depends greatly on its location. England's North Sea production of natural gas is declining quickly. The supplies that are being brought in by ship are being used up quickly during the present shortage created by BP's shut down for maintenance of its North Sea gas production. Although BP's present maintenance is a short term problem, the decline in North Sea gas production appears to be very steep, and is expected to require imports of gas to Britain to be increased from 50% of its domestic needs presently to 75% by 2015. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article6982316.ece I think that the potential of natural gas is only now beginning to be taken seriously, in part as a result of the recent takeover of XTO by Exxon. With the recent split of the old Encana shares into ECA and CVE, it is interesting to note that both ECA and CVE have been touted as being potential takeover targets. In the case of ECA, it is their very large natural gas assets that are attracting attention. Prem's recent purchases of SandRidge, with its natural gas focus, has also been on the minds of Board member. In addition the shares of the drilling companies like Precision Drilling seem to have taken quite a jump in price in the last week.

Mega brands has net earnings of $1.22 compared to loss of $3.34 last year, but these figures include a large litigation settlement this year and a large goodwill impairment charge last year. Actual Earnings ex tiems is $0.14 per share. In any event the market appears to like the news as the share price is up about 73% today. See: http://ca.news.finance.yahoo.com/s/13112009/30/link-f-cnw-mega-brands-reports-third-quarter-2009-results.html http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idCAN1345645520091113?rpc=44

Have a look at the BRK news release at http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/news/NOV0309.pdf about the takeover. It is the largest acquisition that BRK has ever made and I guess represents the elephant for which we have all been patiently waiting.

Hi Al: But you forgot to mention that BRK is splitting its B shares 50 for 1. Cheers, Jim See: http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/news/NOV0309SPLIT.pdf

I am wondering if anyone has an idea of the effect on the book value of FFH when the purchase of the remaining shares of ORH is completed. Will the fact that the ORH shares are being purchased for a higher price mean an adjustment to book value of FFH to reflect a higher value for the ORH shares already held? Thanks in advance for your comments.

Hi Cardboard: I believe that Advent Capital now operates as a subsidiary of Fairfax. I don't know if they have 100% ownership yet but there were no shares traded on Friday Sept 18 and the price has been stable at 210 pence for a couple of months. See: http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot_article.asp?ric=ADV.L

BYD's target is to be the world's leading car maker by 2025. http://ca.news.finance.yahoo.com/s/17092009/2/biz-finance-chinese-car-maker-byd-aiming-zoom-past-toyota.html