cwericb

Agree 100% Good driving is an art to be enjoyed by many.

This is a projection made by people living in large urban centres who seem to have little understanding of the realities of life in the real world where millions live in rural areas. Areas serviced by narrow, unmarked two lane highways and dirt roads are going to prove a challenge for automated vehicles. Then there are also those of us who regularly commute in winter conditions where whiteouts and snow covered roads are frequent and winter driving is an art not understood by many. My present vehicle is quite impressive when I allow it to drive itself, but it is still a long way from being able to navigate anything but clearly marked highways - and even then it can easily get confused.

First Republic Bank?

Viking, I just want to say thanks once again for all your work on Fairfax that you have been so kind to share with us. Relative to many here, I am just a small (and relatively clueless) investor. But when I first decided to enter the stock market Fairfax intrigued me and then I stumbled on to the predecessor of this forum - thank you Sanjeev. I followed the old forum(s) for about a year before I made my first venture into the market. The first stock I purchased was Fairfax in 2007 and I jumped in with both feet at $220/share. Since then I have added FFH at the dips and have yet to part with a single share. While there were times when Fairfax under performed, there were also a number of times when the markets seemed to be falling apart, yet Fairfax either held it’s own or outperformed, especially during the GFC. With the runup over the past couple of years, FFH has now worked itself up to about 55% of my stock portfolio, while that does tend to make me a little nervous at times, I ain’t going anywhere yet. But the insight that you and others on the Board have shared, has given me a much better understanding of the company and much more importantly, insight into the company’s most likely future trajectory. There are a good number of regular contributors here, some are newer and some are ‘the old guard’, but all have shared their valuable insights into the inner workings of Fairfax in a forum that could have been assembled in no other way. Sincerest thanks to all and especially Sanjeev for making the board possible. CWEB

Today both the Dow and TSX were down over 300 points. Prime hurricane season is almost upon us. Fairfax stock has been setting new highs for several days. And yet today, Fairfax stock defies the market trend and hits another new high with a substantial 1.6% ($17.29) jump* and firmly plants itself much closer to $1,100 CDN than the $1,000 mark we had been celebrating. Seems people are finally starting to take notice of Fairfax. Friday may be interesting. *fair volume too

The Canadian Press Mon, July 31, 2023 at 3:34 p.m. ADT BlackBerry software to be used by international electric vehicle consortium BlackBerry Ltd. says some of its software and services have been chosen for use in a Foxconn-backed electric vehicle consortium. The Waterloo, Ont.-based software company says the Mobility in Harmony consortium will use its QNX and Ivy offerings to build the platform. QNX is a cloud- and artificial intelligence-based software foundation while Ivy is an in-vehicle software platform helping automakers monetize data. Software giant Microsoft, South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution and luxury electric vehicle manufacturer Karma Automotive are among the thousands of consortium members. The consortium is working on building a single-row, three-seat vehicle geared toward Asian consumers that it calls Project X. The vehicle is due to launch in Japan later this year, and will be followed by six-seat and nine-seat vehicles.

Careful Sanjeev. Wasn't it a year or so ago that some twit was out to get you and thought he could organize members and have you fired and take over the board? Funny how quickly he got 'disappeared' from the board Hope you got his $50. Could be the same guy? Or perhaps it's Cardboard and his loony ideas, still pissed about being turfed from the board? Just for the record, and perhaps we don't say it enough, but you know that we all respect you for what you have done with this board and we all owe you our thanks.

Added a little more of both Fairfax India (FIH.U) & Clarke Inc. (CKI)

But Berkshire does have A and B shares.

Now that we have hit this new milestone, I wish Prem would do a stock split and lower the per share of Fairfax and make it more attractive to smaller shareholders. There must be a ton of small investors in the market place with smaller portfolios. But for a small investor who would like to add say, $2,500 in FFH shares to his portfolio, what? he needs to buy two and a half shares? With all the complaints about the market not recognizing the true value of Fairfax I think this is one of the reasons why. Lowering the share price to, say $50 or even $100, would not only focus a lot more attention on Fairfax but it would likely soon lead to an escalated share price. Most of the Canadian banks have done this from time to time. What’s so special about Fairfax? Ego? Or am I missing something? JMHO.

On the subject of making stuff up. Would you care to show where you obtained the information that "by roughly 5 years from about 28 down to 23" and to what specific dates do your numbers refer? I ask this because I cannot find those numbers and as you accuse others of "making things up" I am sure you can be much more specific. Thanks.

http://choufunds.com/

It is not like the term "lumpy returns" just came out of nowhere. Prem used the term 8 or 10 years ago to warn about his plan for Fairfax's future and made no bones about it. It was a case of like it or not, but that was his personal prediction of how he was going to run the company. As far as the ups and downs are concerned, I sure like the direction in which we have been going lately. Like it or lump it.

Analysts really are a bit of a joke. In theory they look into their crystal balls and make predictions of the future when all too often the reality is that they simply react to what has already happened. When it comes to Fairfax, really, is there an analyst out there who can match Vikings knowledge of the subject? I very much doubt it - and Viking (and others here) provide their knowledge and insights of Fairfax to board members without charge. Thank you.

Thanks Viking, I fully agree with what you are saying. Just thought it was interesting that Rivett was involved here and I still question the sweetheart deal on Torstar. However, that is past history.

Yes it looks like the debt to Fairfax is being paid out. However, I thought it interesting that Paul Rivett was involved.

Has anyone taken a close look at Chorus Aviation? "Chorus’ vision is to deliver regional aviation to the world. Headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Chorus is an integrated provider of regional aviation solutions, including asset management services. Its principal subsidiaries are: Falko Regional Aircraft, the world’s largest aircraft lessor and asset manager focused solely on the regional aircraft leasing segment; Jazz Aviation, the sole provider of regional air services to Air Canada; and Voyageur Aviation, a provider of specialty air charter, aircraft modification, and parts provisioning services to regional aviation customers around the world." Interesting to note that both Fairfax and Brookfield are involved with Chorus and Paul Rivett is on the board of directors. Picked up a few shares in CHR last week and may acquire some more next week. https://chorusaviation.com/

Welcome back Gio.

There will be so many loopholes and exemptions that it is questionable as to how much impact it will have. "There are also exceptions for residential properties in less-populated areas. Recreational properties — such as cottages, cabins and other vacation homes — are exempt." But it is rather unsettling to see so many nice home sitting vacant for years on end as people from other countries buy up our real estate and forcing prices up to the point where more and more local people are forced out of the housing market.

Little bit of CKI.T (Clarke Inc)

While I have been investing for a fair number of years I am still a rank amateur in this game. In 2021 I was pretty satisfied with being up 34% and was rather disappointed with my results for this year at only 14%. But looking at other board member’s numbers, I don’t feel so bad. Anyway I’m satisfied. On to 2023... (Correction: 15.0% - not including dividends which would have added another 1-2%) Much of the credit for the increase goes to Fairfax (FFH), Altius (ALS), and Suncor (SU). Royal Bank (RY) and SNC Lavalin (SNC) were disappointments, but I am comfortable continuing holding both. One more thing, I believe we have to factor in inflation. With inflation (in my area) running in the 8% range. So I would think that I have to be up at least 8% just to break even.

I wonder what impact a 10 or 20 to one share split would have on the share price? After all, at $800C+ shares are getting pretty expensive for smaller investors. A $40 or even an $80 share price might be much more attractive to people with smaller portfolios. Thoughts?

Last year up 34% so I felt I had a bit of a cushion if things went too far south. Earlier this year I was up 15%, but later on down about 3-4%. But with the latest rally, as of close today I'm up 3.7%. Fairfax has helped level things for me. Could be worse I guess.

Not directly related to the Ukraine, but in reference to China, both Canada and the US have seen major immigration from China to the point where they represent significant proportion of our populations. However I was rather shocked to read this article from the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corp) site the other day. If true, this is sort of a wake up call to the extent China has already invaded our countries. “RCMP investigating Chinese 'police' stations in Canada" "Human rights group says more than 50 exist worldwide, including 3 in Greater Toronto Area There are at least three Chinese police outposts in and around Toronto in predominantly Chinese neighbourhoods, according to a report by human rights group Safeguard Defenders who say they’re being used to pressure some nationals to return to China. Now, the RCMP says it’s investigating whether any criminal activity is taking place. ...” https://www.cbc.ca/news/rcmp-investigating-chinese-police-stations-canada-1.6627166

Anyone interested in current hurricane activity should check here. https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ As one who lives in the Canadian Maritimes, these nasty things can affect more than just my Fairfax holdings. So far, so good...