Dinar

why are you assuming 2% earnings growth? @RedLion, I think having a PhD in economics is more of a hindrance than help, common sense seems to be uncommon in academia (I got to half a dozen PhD seminars every year...)

What do you think is a sustainable level of profits for Wajax and why? Thank you.

https://www.resumebuilder.com/1-in-8-retirees-plan-to-go-back-to-work-in-2024/

The country does NOT need unskilled labor. Immigration depresses wages and raises housing costs. We have plenty of unskilled people on welfare who can do these jobs. There are hundreds of millions of unskilled people in Africa, Latin America, Arab world, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Afghanistan. You want all of them here? There are millions of Haitians who ruined their country, what will happen to the US if they come here?

What world do you live in? In NYC, these "industrious" young people are busy standing in line for free food, get free housing and healthcare, crowd out hospital emergency rooms, their kids crowd out schools, and they are busy committing crimes. Most of these young people also don't have any skills. These are not Chinese/Russian PhDs in math/computer science/biology/chemistry or Ukrainian/Polish plumbers/electricians/carpenters.

You were smarter than I was. I think the sale of the assets in Texas + the deal with Amazon are a very big deal.

So, with the caveat that I should have bought at half the price, the thesis is: demand for power is going up, price for power is going up, this company will see growing profits, will buy back shares, and is at a huge discount to CEG and sells at a double digit free cash flow yield a year or two out.

There may be a tax nuance with the swap. If Fairfax takes delivery there might not be tax implications while if it cash settles it, then there will be a large taxable gain? This in turn will likely affect the decision making of the company of when to terminate the swap.

Bought Talen Energy - TLNE on Friday.

KSB in Germany.

From what my accountant told me before, FBAR does NOT apply to foreign stocks held in US brokerage accounts. My accountant is still working on the IRA requirements, once she is done, I will let you know (it is a large firm, she is checking with another department, and my guess is that everyone is trying to cover their behind...)

I would avoid Kering (too much fashion risk and also luxury names, excluding Hermes, have taken a lot of price in the past several years) and also ALX - their retail condo will probably go to the lender at 731 Lexington and not clear what will happen to the office building - Bloomberg lease expires in 2029. Now at 160, it was a no-brainer, here at $213, different story.

Aena, Philip Morris International, Tel-aviv stock exchange, Ambev, Transdigm, Monarch Cement. On the list, I do NOT own Aena and Ambev.

I paid nothing for my Phd which I received ten years ago. I also received a stipend every year. I could have tutored undergrads for $100+ per hour if I had the inclination. The people I am talking about received PhDs in marketing, economics, management, accounting, finance and computer science. All making $170k-300K per annum, + insane benefits + incredible lifestyle in academia. I don't know about Germany, in the US you do bachelor's in four years, although some people can do it in three. Masters is part of PhD program, that can be done in four to five years. Yes, some people take six or seven, but that is generally the exception. Fair salary for a PhD in academia? I don't know it depends. You work 10 hours a week twelve weeks a year, and the rest of the time you do research, except once you get tenure, you don't even have to do that. There is well known research study/ies that show that research productivity collapses after people get tenure. Well, for 120 hours of work per year what should you get paid? Keep in mind, tenure is like a bond. You get your salary, pension, healthcare (worth $40-50K per annum after-tax in the US), other benefits - like tuition payment for your kids at university. You can also "work" till you are 80. @thepupil, I don't know about professors of engineering. I know that a friend is a professor of physics at City College of NY. He makes about $90K per annum, pays nothing for his health care benefits, pays nothing for his future pension benefits, and teaches about 20 hours a week, twelve weeks a year. Also gets a sabbatical every sixth or seventh year.

Tobacco stocks are unlikely to outperform. Altria and British American tobacco are seeing almost 10% decline in the US cigarette business, and are not really priced accordingly, particularly Altria.

I did a Phd, so I know a bunch of people in my class, the year or two before and the year or two after. A distant relative just got a job as a computer science professor at NYU.

That's just not true. I know a bunch of people who at 22 went into graduate school, and at 27-28 were working as professors, with $170-$250K salaries, some with subsidized housing (2 bedroom for $2k per month in West Village of Manhattan where market price was $8k), 30K+ per year research budget that you could use for travel to conferences in Maui or Italy, and yes, teaching load of 6-10 hours per week, 12 weeks a year. Oh, and let's not forget university will pay college tuition of their kids if they go to that school, or 50% if they go to another university.

I don't listen to those who call capitalists parasites. I have seen that movie before, it is a call to mass murder.

Karl Marx was the ultimate parasite - lived on money that Engels gave him by exploiting his workers. Karl Marx denied the role of incentives and human nature. His taught incitement, his followers murdered more people than Hitler. It boggles the mind that Nazis are universally reviled and communists are celebrated by intellectuals.

And just 12 weeks a year at a place like NYU, Yale, Columbia...

Wait, where did I hear this before? Oh yes, in the USSR, reading Das Kapital! The only parasites that I can see is him and his fellow professors in academia

Greg, what are you referring to when you are talking about Fanatics? Thank you.

@Viking, I thought that the equity portfolio was USD 15bn, no?

Thank you very much for a very interesting, name, what do you think is the average over cycle EBITDA less maintenance cap ex for this business? Thank you.

WIth the caveat that I am neither a tax attorney nor a tax accountant, my understanding that it is only Fairfax India that is a PFIC.