ragu

I can't speak for Jack but I tried to figure out the "certain" reason from his hints in the other thread. The first place to look was the CEO presentation that he referred to: http://www.bnsf.com/investors/presentations/pdf/2009jpmorgan.pdf Slide 15 refers to the increasing volume of imports from Asia since 2000. Between 70%-80% of the imports come in through the West Coast of the US. From BNSF's website(http://www.bnsf.com/markets/asia/network.html): "BNSF freight moves over the shortest route from the Pacific Northwest to Chicago, the Northern Transcon, and the shortest route from Southern California to Chicago, the Southern Transcon." (emphasis supplied) I believe this to be the source of BNSF's sustainable competitive advantage over the other rails for the foreseeable future. Best, Ragu

link, Thanks for the write-up. Much appreciated. Re. the 2 new Wood Grill Buffet restaurants that became operational in the 4th quarter of 08, they are franchised. Consistent with what Sardar has said will be the way forward i.e. growth through franchising as far as restaurant operations are concerned. Best, Ragu

Sanjeev, Thanks for setting this up. I have a few questions: 1. How does he rate Jim Verney? Follow-up: What are his thoughts on Verney's departure from Western? 2. If he had to pick out one quality of Sardar's that gives him an edge in investing, what would it be? 3. I'll understand if he can't answer this but I'll give it a shot nonetheless: Did the idea for the "put" provision related to the purchase of the remainder of the minority interest in Mustang originate from Sardar or John? Best, Ragu