Spooky

Aren't you an immigrant to the US?

Amen

I'm not an expert in UK or German politics. I am worried when Elon, who has done a Nazi salute on TV, gives so much air time to a far right German political group that was deemed an extremist group by German intelligence. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy6zk9wkrdo Also, why should there be mass deportations? Where are these people supposed to go? We are on a slippery slope to something extremely dark and troubling.

We are talking about the AFD because certain people want to boost the AFD and are directing the algorithm at X accordingly. I don't believe we are talking about straightforward lower migration and deportation.

This is just one example. Look at Facebook's business model - it is built by driving engagement through outrage. The algorithm therefore amplifies extreme views. Look at X and TikTok today - what is the algorithm serving you? Why are we even talking about the AFD? Personally, I don't let an algorithm tell me what I should see and fill my head with every day. Your brain is wired to automatically believe what you read /hear. Once you form a belief it is exceptionally difficult to get rid of it. Remember, you are the easiest person to fool.

I'm more worried about a deflationary world.

Part of the reason for less buyback seems to be the 1% tax that was instituted on buybacks. Buffett alluded to it changing the calculus.

This predates the acquisition of Twitter by Elon. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/feb/04/facebook-groups-misinformation Facebook's own internal reporting knew they were driving Germans to interact with far right groups. "Facebook’s own research showed that algorithmic recommendations of groups may have contributed to the rise of violence and extremism. On Sunday, the Wall Street Journal reported that internal documents showed executives were aware of risks posed by groups and were warned repeatedly by researchers to address them. In one presentation in 2020 August, researchers said roughly “70% of the top 100 most active US Civic Groups are considered non-recommendable for issues such as hate, misinfo, bullying and harassment”."

I would encourage everyone to read the attached article from the FT by Yuval Noah Harari. We have been down this road of right wing nationalism before, if we divide the world into rival fortresses it will not end well. Yuval Noah Harari_ Trump’s world of rival fortresses.pdf

A big part of this is Facebook and their algorithms. Lots of studies showing that people are being driven to the right wing extreme in Germany by Facebook. https://www.niemanlab.org/2025/02/in-germany-social-media-algorithms-are-pumping-out-huge-amounts-of-far-right-pro-afd-content/

Let go of their guilt complex? I.e. forget the atrocities of the past? What are we even advocating for here?

I liked the way he did it. He announced it to the world and all shareholders at the same time. He also left a transition period for Greg to get things in place. Sounds like he knew he was ready and it was time. Better to make the announcement and leave on his own terms.

I have about 40% in USD denominated assets but in reality my exposure is higher since my big Canadian stocks, CSU and FFH, both have significant US assets / business. I'm not planning on making any changes unless the rule of law starts to unravel in the US. In the long run they will course correct and figure things out. However, I am trying to build up a bigger cash pile and widen my investing horizons to some other countries like the UK, Japan, Sweden, Korea, etc.

Constellation Software has been experimenting with VC style investments. https://vmsfund.com/

I'm not sure if this is exactly what you are looking for but I would recommend Franchise Value: A Modern Approach to Security Analysis by Martin Leibowitz. He does a good job breaking down the drivers of company value and what goes into p/e ratios. Michael Mauboussin also has a series of excellent papers such as this one: https://www.morganstanley.com/im/publication/insights/articles/article_themathofvalueandgrowth.pdf He also has a great book - expectations investing.

I'm also hoping for no dividend. We will see what happens!

I'm not so sure about this. Given BRK's size, it's best shot of obtaining crazy returns is still to be the investor of last resort when the markets go haywire. If Greg makes deals just because the cash pile is getting too large it will be a sign that their investment discipline is eroding.

Classic Bill.

This guy is insane. We don't want to be part of the US. Why would we give up our political power / voice? How could all of Canada be one state? These people don't know anything about Canada or its history.

Cause cities are where a lot of people live my guy. 6.7 million people live in just the greater Toronto area - 18% of the country.

Thanks John. I've been reading Buffett & Munger Unscripted and have gotten used to the well organized and concise wisdom from the meetings there!

Anyone know if there is a cleaned-up / streamlined version of the AGM I can watch? Missed the second half.

Damn, that's pretty amazing.

Ajit talked about the job Todd did at Geico - pretty impressive. Apparently he cut staff to save $2B in costs and got combined ratio down somewhere starting with an 8, something Ajit didn't think he would see in his lifetime at Geico.