cwericb

Yes. The “Fair and Friendly” portion of Fairfax has left the building long ago. The judge’s remarks in the Fibrek case and Prem’s performance at the trial has caused further substantial damage to the reputation of both Prem and Fairfax. It is quite unfortunate given their previous reputation. I would humbly suggest that Fairfax would be well advised to get to work on their PR for starters. And secondly to clean up their act and give a little more thought to appearances. I am not going to pretend to tell Prem how to run his business, but appearance are important. If you are going to operate close to the line in some instances, at least try to do it with a little guile. Leadership was once defined as ... “The art of telling a man to go to Hell - in such a way as he cannot wait to get there.”

“The only reason Blackberry is even around is because of Prem putting John Chen in charge.” Oh I don’t disagree with that, it’s like when he had Bill Gregson turn around The Brick. However unfortunately, one tends to get remembered for the less savory things one does more than the good one does. Just saying.

Yep, the BB shareholders are up in arms. I guess their underlying assumption was that either BB doesn't need the liquidity or that there is a long line-up of potential lenders who would be prepared to lend a half-billion at 3.75% with no conversion privilege. I am from the school of thought that FFH's last note flotation was at 4 5/8%, so if that's what FFH pays for debt, what should a riskier outfit like BB pay? Maybe 7%? Seriously, a 15 minute walk through their financials for the past 3 or 4 years is enough to make a guy want to puke. Maybe there is a long line-up of outfits wanting to lend money to companies that have drastically transformed their business and are cashflow negative? I don't see it, but I've been wrong plenty of times before... SJ Blackberry shareholders are still up in arms about this: https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/concerned-shareholder-objects-to-blackberry-s-related-party-transactions-with-fairfax-851354230.html SJ Your prior actions tend to form your reputation... "Fairfax and Mr. Watsa have a history, when presented with a conflict of interest, of working against the interests of minority shareholders and for the benefit of Fairfax. In September 2019, the Québec Superior Court rendered a judgment in which it found that Mr. Watsa and Fairfax, as insiders of Fibrek Inc., acted in a "blatant conflict of interest situation" for the benefit of Fairfax by enabling the acquisition of Fibrek at the "lowest cost possible," to the detriment of Fibrek's minority shareholders who were bought out at an unfairly low price. The Court also found that despite the trust and confidence Fibrek placed in Mr. Watsa and Fairfax, Mr. Watsa purposely refrained from disclosing Fairfax's true intentions to Fibrek management."

" 'Don't they care?': Europeans astonished as U.S. hits 5 million cases” “ROME -- With confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. hitting 5 million Sunday, by far the highest of any country, the failure of the most powerful nation in the world to contain the scourge has been met with astonishment and alarm in Europe. Perhaps nowhere outside the U.S. is America's bungled virus response viewed with more consternation than in Italy, which was ground zero of Europe's epidemic. Italians were unprepared when the outbreak exploded in February, and the country still has one of the world's highest official death tolls at over 35,000. But after a strict nationwide, 10-week lockdown, vigilant tracing of new clusters and general acceptance of mask mandates and social distancing, Italy has become a model of virus containment. https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/don-t-they-care-europeans-astonished-as-u-s-hits-5-million-cases-1.5057041

Do the demographics, land mass size, population, population density etc too. NYC has a population density of 38,424 per square kilometer NZ has a population density of 15 people per square kilometer. Complete waste of time even looking at this comparison. Why dont you post a twitter link on the data from Antarctica to really hammer the point home. Hold on there just a minute. You make accusations of cherry picking the data then you do exactly that. Instead of comparing population density of the U.S., you use NYC. And you do that because the comparison between the two countries doesn’t support your argument. NZ population density: 15 people /sqK US population density: 36 people /sqK NOT 38,424 / sqK Pretty dishonest trying to compare the country to NYC. How about sticking to the facts for a change.

Latest I heard from Portugal is that there is a problem in Lisbon, but the rest of the country is not bad. This from my sister who has a second home in Portugal and has just returned to Canada and is finishing up her 14 day isolation.

Seeking Alpha article on Fairfax. Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd.: Undervalued But No Catalyst In Sight https://seekingalpha.com/article/4364646-fairfax-financial-holdings-ltd-undervalued-no-catalyst-in-sight?utm_medium=email&utm_source=seeking_alpha&mail_subject=frfhf-fairfax-financial-holdings-ltd-undervalued-but-no-catalyst-in-sight&utm_campaign=rta-stock-article&utm_content=link-0

Thanks for that. I thought I was going nuts. I posted last night and this morning it was gone. So I essentially reposted.

“Integrity”? Here are some quotes about Prem Watsa from the article about the Fibrek court case : “Canadian investor Prem Watsa was “purposely forgetful” and offered a “mindboggling” explanation in court testimony explaining why he backed a low-ball bid for a pulp mill in a sale to Resolute Forest Products Inc., a Montreal judge concluded in the seven-year-old case.” “Watsa’s testimony was so vague and filled with so many uncertainties, unlikelihood, unsubstantiated denials and contradictions that it is very difficult for the court to give credence to the affirmations and explanations of the witness whose memory appeared to be failing on the most crucial aspects of his testimony,” “ Fairfax “was in a blatant conflict of interest situation,” the Quebec judge said” “Fairfax agreed to sell its 33 million shares to Resolute for $1 apiece — locking in a price that dissenting shareholders considered too low. The judge considered the fair value of Fibrek shares to be $1.99, and found Watsa’s explanation for accepting less “mindboggling.” Now that’s not a couple of cents per share in the difference. Nor is it a debatable difference. At the time I said on this board that the deal was dead wrong and that it made a joke of the Fairfax motto of “Fair and Friendly” acquisitions. Meanwhile, his defenders here tried to justify the buyout as “Watsa was simply acting in the best interests of Fairfax”. Or, I suppose you could put it another way since Watsa owns a sizable portion of Fairfax, “Watsa was simply looking after Watsa’s best interests”. Rather putting Prem Watsa on a pedestal, perhaps consider that he simply stole $33,000,000 from Fibrek shareholders (myself included) and then got caught with his pants down. So when you consider the present Rivett and Torstar situation ... well, there just seems to be an odd smell coming from the company.

" Definitely my perception of the US as a country has changed, even if I cannot really explain it. " Ditto. I have always been a fan of the US and have defended it many times to people who have not felt the same way. Gven that the President is rude, lies like a rug and is obviously a bully, this reflects back on those who tolerate him. This 'anti-mask' and 'you can't tell me what to do' attitude can only be described as very, very selfish - 'I don't care who I give the virus to - you can't tell me to wear a mask'. The US has lost a lot of respect around the world and is unlikely to regain that for some time. Unfortunately, it seems that many do not care. Hopefully someone will be able to make America great again.

It's an interesting point. I've thought about this in the past because it kinda works like that with HIV. I'm not sure how it will shake out. But I am sure sooner rather than later this issue will come before the courts. It’s a bigger issue for business than for individuals, imo. Imagine an outbreak in a large office building etc. FWIW, I wonder how these meat processor for example deal with this. They likely get sued already. Yes one would think that once things settle down, the lawyers will get busy. The problem with criminal charges, of course, is proving the case. However, in areas where masks are mandatory you will have a certain number of twits who will still refuse to wear them, as well as those who will object to any bylaw on the grounds of their perception of "civil rights". If it were publicized that not wearing a mask could possibly kill people and potentially lead to serious criminal charges, it might persuade more to understand the seriousness of wearing masks.

Excellent point on HIV.

If, I am drinking and my judgement is impaired, and I get behind the wheel and accidentally kill someone I will be charged with manslaughter. If I make a conscious, unimpaired decision to refuse to wear a mask and accidentally give someone the Coronavirus who later dies, should I not be charged with manslaughter?

The US Government has abdicated authority on combating Covid. US retail stores has had to step up to fill the vacuum. Publix, Walmart, CVS, Target, Kroger, Kohl’s, Best Buy, etc. are all requiring the wearing of masks. What a dysfunctional, gutless government.

If Trump sees himself as a "wartime president", maybe he should start prosecuting some of these "war crimes".

"Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp forbids cities, counties from requiring masks as coronavirus surges in the state" https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/07/16/kemp-georgia-mask-mandates/ WTF is wrong with these people?

Meanwhile back at the White House, Trump has nothing better to do than to use the Oval Office to pose for pictures in front of a bunch of canned beans to make a promotion for a private company! One hundred thousand dead citizens and he uses his position to advertise canned beans. Makin' America Great Again. More like making a laughing stock of the country. Will we ever wake up from this satire?

"Most of the excess deaths from Covid are from NY and states around NY." So far. "I wont call anyone a pedophile " No one did.

Is there any rational person who doesn’t think Trump’s handling of Covid-19 has been deplorable? There is indeed such a group. The only group that I find more deplorable than pedophiles. Trump supporters. Apologize and delete immediately While Vinod1's reply might be a little extreme Investor 20, I note that you avoided the question.

“what exactly is he supposed to do?” You can’t be serious. Telling states to reopen before they are ready? Remember “Liberate Michigan!”? Politicizing face masks “...Americans might wear face masks not as a way to prevent the spread of coronavirus but as a way to signal disapproval of him.” I don’t think that Americans understand how pissed off the rest of the world is at the US. This epidemic is a world epidemic. Allowing the virus to run rampant among 328,000,000 people is a threat to the whole world. Wouldn’t you be pissed off if the people living next to you all had Covid-19 and they just continued to go about their daily business while you bit the bullet and did everything you could to protect yourself and stop the spread? Is there any rational person who doesn’t think Trump’s handling of Covid-19 has been deplorable? Is it not the Presidents responsibility to lead the country and set an example. Yet his approach is to “ignore it and it will just go away”. There is no way Trump gets a free pass on this.

It would be nice if there was some way to link stocks being discussed with their market listing so a simple click would take you to the ticker where you could immediately see current price, graph, etc. Or even better, have a display of the current price automatically appear with the heading.

"Plus my boating hobby. " In that case you're just lucky to be able to afford to eat. I know the hard way. There is more than a little truth in the old definition that a boat is a hole in the water that you try to fill up with money. :)

That's an interesting concept and makes sense. The money's still there it is just going in different places. Restaurants are having a rough time, grocery stores are booming. Thanks for that.

Meanwhile Trump says "we are doing very well" in the fight against Cronavirus. And there are still people who want to keep these lunatics in office? The decreasing IQ of some people is amazing.

"This is so true, most grocery store vegetable/fruits have no flavour here in Canada as well Most fruit is usually tasteless and hard as a rock. Yes, supermarket prices are going up sharply and there are quite a few empty shelves. As Covid-19 spreads one has to be concerned about the food chain. The other thing I have noticed recently is that the supermarket's policy of cleaning carts, providing sanitizer, etc is sadly slipping quickly, but if you go into a Dollar store or many other stores, they have someone at the door wearing a mask and they spray every customer's hands as they enter.