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Ok Myth, That was GOOD, and informative. I would recommend this to everyone here that has an interest in FBK. Might this explain the recent end of the constipation in FBK's share price? And at one time I thought this had been my most sh*tty investment. I have a sh*tload of this stuff, should I add more? I could go on....

Has anyone heard anything about FFH's lawsuit lately? I know the wheels of justice grind slowly but it must be at least a couple of years since I have seen anything about it at all.

Asking this question is something like asking, "How long is a piece of string?" There are so many variables; what is your lifestyle, how old are you, what region do you live in, etc, etc. The Royal Bank website has a page somewhere (for Canadians) where you can plug in your numbers and and it factors in CPP, OAS, etc. Can't remember if it includes taxes or not. There must be numerous sites like this, get some numbers there and that might provide a starting point. But if say, a certain amount of savings is good for someone at age 65-70 its probably not enough for someone at 40. The other factor is how confident are you that you can achieve a decent return on your investments on an ongoing basis - a lot of people didn't do so well a couple of years ago - and being over confident here might not bode well for your future. Who was it that used to advertise the "Freedom 55" plan? Personally sometimes I think I'm on the "Freedom 95" plan.

Forty-one percent!! I am impressed! Not just with the return, but with the concept of having someone of Prem's caliber donating his expertise to manage funds for a non-profit. Now that I think of it, I have also been a non-profit at times I wonder if Prem .... Oh yeah, I guess that is why I am in FFH.

Here is a little better news - "Raymond James Raises Fibrek Inc to market perform from underperform"

I have not seen anything on FFh's lawsuit for nearly a year. Has anyone seen anything about it? Surely something must be happening?

Here`s my two cents worth. Like Mark Jr. I have dabbled in gold for a long time and have learned a few lessons. A long time ago - when I certainly could`t afford it - I bought a few Krugerrands and Maple Leafs. First off I had to pay a commission to the bank to purchase them, then I had to pay to have them shipped to my branch. Then they sat in a safety deposit box for a year or so while the price of gold dropped to half. Then I decided to get rid of them and I discovered that I had to pay to ship them, have them assayed (required before I could cash them and wasn`t cheap), then there more bank and shipping charges. Things may have changed since but that cured me of the gold bug - at least as far as holding the metal itself was concerned. However, five or six years ago I put some money into the RBC Precious Metals Fund that is now worth just about exactly four times what it was then. The more trouble the world currencies are in, the more valuable gold will become. However it will peak at some point and while I`m not quite sure about the $2,500 figure, I think Mark Jr has got the signs of a gold peak exactly right. The only real surprise gold has given me in the past few years was the decline after the financial meltdown when gold dropped from $1,000 to $700. But I have chalked that up to the fact that there was just so much money taken out of the system that everything got hit hard - however FFH helped make up for that at the time. :) Here is a chart of the price of gold 1975-2010, factor inflation into it when you read and today's chart looks eerily like about 1980. http://www.kitco.com/scripts/hist_charts/yearly_graphs.plx

Yes, my Asus also came from Newegg - newegg.com for US or newegg.ca for Canada. I guess the smaller keyboard is just the price you have to pay for a 10" but it really is very portable and the keyboard is not a big problem. I've had mine now for about 9 months and the only complaint I have is that it is just a bit slower than my 17" Dell that I use at work. But slow is defined as taking perhaps 5 seconds to do something instead of 3 or 4 (have we become spoiled or what?). But nice screen, seems well built, and I wouldn't want to go any larger or smaller because the portability is excellent. I have a 15" laptop I use at home (soon to be replaced with a 17") and I keep the Asus for the cottage on weekends and travelling. It will do pretty well anything any other computer will do except there is no disk drive. I would think there will be some really good buys as we go towards Xmas.

Couple of things, mine cost about $300. I did a lot of research and found that the Asus was probably one of the best. You probably want to get something with good battery life -watchout for the chepies or ones that are power hungry. My netbook has Bluetooth which I found useful as I bought a cheap Bluetooth headphone & mic combo that allowed me to use Skype without being wired directly to the netbook. Also remember that with wireless internet you either have to be within range of free 'hotspots' or pay for a roaming setup.

Myth, I bought a netbook last year. I find it a bit slow but it goes forever on a charge (6-8 hrs), which is an important factor (it is an Asus eee). I used it while on vacation in Hawaii this Spring and found it to be excellent. I could get on the web and check things and use my email. I also set up with Skype and it allowed me to call anywhere for little or nothing. The netbook comes with a decent webcam and I was able to make video calls (free) back to the East Coast with no problems at all. I also use it when travelling on weekends - like the ad says "don't leave home without it". It is small enough to easily pack in a pouch on a carry on. I have been thinking about a Kobo, etc, but I'm not sure that the two are really interchangable.

LONGUEUIL, QC, Oct. 22 /CNW Telbec/ - Fibrek (TSX: FBK) will release its 2010 third quarter results after market hours on Thursday, November 4, 2010. President and Chief Executive Officer, Pierre Gabriel Côté, and Patsie Ducharme, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will host a conference call on Friday, November 5, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) to discuss financial results. Members of the financial community will be able to access the conference call and ask questions. Media representatives may attend as listeners only. Participants not able to listen to the live call can access a replay of the archived call by calling 1-800-642-1687, access code 18790366#. The replay will be available on Friday, November 5 as of 1 p.m. until 11:59 p.m. on Friday, November 12, 2010. Complete unaudited consolidated financial statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis will be available on the Company's temporary site at: www.fibrek.com and SEDAR web site at: www.sedar.com. Unh, y'all got that last sentence, right................

Further to questions regarding the connection between Chou & Fairfax, from the prospectus for the Chou Associates fund... "As at August 27, 2010, Fairfax Financial Holdings holds approximately 23.2% of the Series A Units of the Fund."

I sent them an e-mail yesterday telling them what I thought of their website and the impression it gives investors. I will not hold my breath waiting for a response. Some may not see the importance of a functional, informative and attractive website but today "image" is important. It concerns me that FBK management don't seem to realize this and don't show an ability to keep up with the times. Admittedly this is a small thing but it does not give a good feeling about the way management regards technology. What gets me is that they had a half decent site for SFK and really all they needed to do was make minor changes to their old site. Anybody interested in giving them a call and complaining?

Funny that you should mention the law suit as I had been contemplating posting a question asking if anyone had any news. I must be at least a year since I have heard any news at all. Does anyone know of any recent developments or where it stands now?

Uccmal I agree 100% with what you say. Why buy back shares when that may have a relatively small impact on share price whereas a dividend seems to have a more immediate effect on share prices - and it is the perception that the company is healthy enough to pay out dividends that counts. Further, the lack of a working web site in this day and age gives the perception that this company is a Mickey Mouse outfit. If these guys market their products the way they market their company, then they need help. It is almost like they are complacent with their positions in the company and don't want to do anything to draw attention to FBK in case that might change their personal stakes in the company. On the subject of share price, I see posts now and again where the posters say they don’t care what the share price is, but it is value of the company they are interested in. That may be fine in theory or for a fund manager with an infinite time frame, but it is a very idealistic viewpoint. Who knows when an individual one may want to or may have to sell his shares?

I don't know the specifics, but I have seen the words "crooks", "thieves", etc used frequently. (However in some cases the words were probably deserved.) But it is a good reminder to be a little careful as to how one phrases his comments. There is a right way and a wrong way to call a crook a crook.

I have always been surprised at some of the outrageous statements posted on the Stockhouse board. Now, in no way am I comparing this board to Shockhouse, but most of us are tempted to vent at times so I thought that the following would make interesting reading. St. Elias Mines Ltd. to Sue for Defamation Vancouver, B.C. September 20, 2010 St. Elias Mines Ltd. () ("St. Elias" or the "Company") announces that the Company, its President, Lori McClenahan, and management of St. Elias are suing certain anonymous online bulletin board posters for defamation. The anonymous posters placed a series of defamatory comments on a Stockhouse bullboard against the Company, its President and management and, as of today, are continuing to post false and defamatory comments. Further details regarding the defamation lawsuits will follow once filings are made with the Supreme Court of British Columbia. "The Company has grounds to file defamation lawsuits with the courts against the posters to seek general and aggravated damages as well as punitive damages. There is a need to deter irresponsible, self-interested, malicious postings and the courts have, in the past looked down upon libellous material found in online postings" stated President, Lori McClenahan. "Statements transmitted and published over Stockhouse's website about particular companies are accessible by millions of individuals, shareholders and potential investors, and the extent of the damage could be considerable", the President continued. Prior Lawsuits Against Internet Posters Stockhouse posters have faced legal action over forum postings many times in the past. One well-known case is the lawsuit where Barrick Gold Corp. was awarded $125,000 by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice after the company was libelled on internet chat lines. In a more recent case, a handful of inflammatory online postings about Farallon Mining Ltd. ("Farallon") have led to the biggest internet defamation award ever handed out in Canada. The Supreme Court of British Columbia awarded $425,000 in damages for defamatory comments made by an a online poster. On March 30, 2010, an online poster had to pay a total of $425,000 in damages for comments he made at Stockhouse's website. The targets of the posters online ire were Farallon, Farallon's Chairman and Farallon's management company. Madam Justice C.A. Wedge awarded Farallon and Farallon's management company $75,000 each in general damages and $25,000 each in punitive damages. Farallon's Chairman was awarded $125,000 in general damages, $75,000 in aggravated damages and $25,000 in punitive damages. In addition to being the biggest internet defamation award in Canadian history, it is the largest defamation award rendered against a single person in Canada.

I just got caught up on this board a few minutes ago and would like to add my two cents worth. There is a fine line between discussion and argument. If we were all in agreement with everything said on this board and we simply patted each other on the back, the board would be a waste of time. A good example of the value of this board is the FBK thread. Usually SD takes an optimistic view of the company, while Cardboard leans more towards the pessimistic side. Just when I get a little over enthusiastic about the company’s future, Cardboard brings me back to reality. They are respectful of one another, but often see things differently leaving the reader to use his own judgement as to how to view each posters views and make a more informed decision about investing in the company. That is the true value of this unique board. It is an exchange of ideas and thoughts -positive and negative. Let’s have lots of disagreement, but let’s try and keep the egos and rhetoric down to the point where no one gets insulted. I think that it might have been a knee jerk reaction on rick_v’s part to depart the board and he probably would have reconsidered after he cooled off and realized that even he is not 100% right 100% of the time. But it was also perhaps a little harsh of ‘The Boss’ to kick him out. But that is his prerogative. Without Sanjeev this very unique board wouldn’t exist and someone has to keep the kooks out - and I am not referring to rick_v by that remark. But when a decision is taken to bar an active member from the board maybe we should take a poll? Comments?

Yeah, but what about that guy using Parsad's name? Just kidding.

Agreed. I wonder if Mr. Cote has been reading our board? But the employee rights offering has to be a good incentive to get the stock price up and the $1.35 should be a reasonable target.

"Finally, a insider buy. Good sign." Other than a relatively small purchase by Cote, are these not just the rights offered to staff @1.35 as an incentive rather than any actual purchases?

Seems like the local weather forecast. If you don't like it change the channel until you get a forecast you like! I seem to recall statistics that the forecasts were right 55% of the time. Flip a coin and you would be right 50%, so how much does that extra 5% cost?

Back in mid-July, on another board, there was mention of possible labour problems at the Saint-Félicien Mill. However, no one here seemed to think that this information was material. However, in the quarterly report they note ... ``The Saint-Félicien Mill’s collective agreement with production and maintenance employees expired on April 30, 2009.`` ... ``No negotiations between Fibrek and its union have yet begun in respect of local issues. There can be no assurance that Fibrek will be able to successfully renegotiate the collective agreements or renegotiate them on terms satisfactory to Fibrek.`` Now the supposed word from inside the plant last month was that the workers were talking strike, and with the union contract having expired well over a year ago, does no one here see this as a serious concern?

Just to set the record straight, the increased likelihood of a bad hurricane season on the East Coast is not exactly news and those of us who live here have been advised of this as far back as last Spring. So there is nothing at all new about this information and it has pretty well been general knowledge for many months. Of course we were supposed to get some hurricanes last year and didn't so, I guess it is like most other weather forecasts - flip a coin. However, hurricane development is stimulated by warm water and here in Atlantic Canada are experiencing considerably warmer waters than normal this year so that tends to confirm the forecasts of more hurricanes and of more severe hurricanes.

“Third, I and many on this board am pretty agnostic when it comes to profits. We count cash and want there to be more next year then the current one.” Look, any way you cut it we are all looking for profits in one form or another. Profits generated year over year increase book value. I would not be particularly intersted in investing in any company that was not interested in profits. Perhaps I took this out of context? “...Mister Market cares about underwriting. Insurance Analysts view investment gains as one time deals...” Unfortunately that is true but one would think that there would come a point where Mr. Market would eventually clue in to the fact that HWIC has built a track record that deserves to be factored into the value of this company. And yes, a serious downturn could adversely effect those investment gains but the same climate would also tend to depress underwriting profits. Those Insurance Analysts might also remember that we had a pretty nasty bump in the economy a year or so ago and FFH didn’t fare too badly - to put it mildly. Perhaps some of those guys should start to “think outside the box”.