nodnub

That is how I treated it. I put 1% of my portfolio into it at the time. It was roughly 30:1 return if successful. It ran up about 10x but I didn't sell any of it because the run-up was logical based on ongoing court decisions in related cases. Then we won the case, then it was appealed, then we won on appeal! But in 2008 WAMU went into FDIC protection and was acquired by JPM. The lawsuit was deemed an asset transferred to JPM and the tracking warrant was deemed a liability that was left with the bankrupt shell of WAMU. So I held on and wound up with about what I started with. This goes to show that you can be right about the lawsuit but still lose your money when something unexpected happens. Have fun!

These comments are specific to a litigation play I owned a token amount in. Lot of fun. Sort of like a lottery ticket if you like to gamble. Was very illiquid. Had very large price fluctuations. PROS It wasn't highly correlated during a widespread market correction like 2008/2009. So you might be able to switch into other mis-priced securities during a correction Huge potential gains. Overlooked by most investors. Mis-priced because of legal uncertainty and because it was a spin-off. CONS Keeping on top of the court filings takes a lot of effort. If you have a small investment, the time required is probably not worth it. Court case and appeals can drag on for 10-15 years in some cases (or even longer) If you are a large investor and something goes wrong you probably need to have a lawyer on your team. If you are a small investor and something goes wrong, you probably will get overlooked, ignored, or screwed.

I think corruption is a big problem in Africa too. As a bonus you get random warlords and refugees. Infrastructure may be worse than in India. Anyway, Africa is a pretty big place, so I'm sure some countries there have a good business climate and good growth.

Maybe not too hard if overleveraged on binary outcomes. :) Details in WSJ article. Can click through article from here. https://www.google.com/search?q=Owen+Li+Canarsie+Capital+wsj&tbm=nws

http://www.currentmedicine.tv/2014/11/08/atul-gawandes-surgical-checklist-fails-in-real-world-study/ interesting points in this article about potential sources of bias in original study, and poor study setup.

Karthikpm, it's an IPO which hasn't occurred yet, so you can't trade it yet. It looks like an offering for a SPAC focused on India. It's not technically a SPAC. The Company has applied to have the Subordinate Voting Shares listed on the TSX. The Company anticipates that its portfolio will be concentrated, provided that the Net Proceeds of the Offerings will be invested in at least six different Indian Investments, such that no single investment is expected to have an overly undue impact on the performance of the Company.

I think in a high-quality large cap there is high tendency that they will keep performing well for a long period of time. Small companies tend to have less diversified income streams and are more sensitive to business fluctuations. I also think it's harder to identify the high-quality small companies. From personal experience, SmallCo's seem more likely to have a rights offering, or other corporate action that you need to stay on top of (or you risk getting taken advantage of). In a small cap it's easier for management to lead a buyout at low (unfair) price. Hard for small retail holders to fight for a fair price. Liquidation and Restructuring can happen to any size company, but I have seen it a lot more in small/midcap. Just my personal experience. Maybe someone with more time and better knack with small companies get do better with them.

West, are you saying that you think large caps need to be watched more closely than small/midcaps? Seems counterintuitive to me.

You could ask her to just read those two chapters (I think they are Chapters 8 and 20). If she is just starting out, that might be an easier introduction than reading a whole book.

can you read German? http://www.titlis.ch/de/header/unternehmen/investor-relations#tabpaneltabs1_2

One that springs to mind is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakhalin-II At the time, it seemed that trumped up environmental issues were used to force out Shell, in favor of Gazprom, after which Putin immediately declared those environmental issues resolved.

It's natural for there to be a long bias in a rising market. Other factors against shorting. -It's harder to get the timing right. -You pay while you wait. -If your thesis is wrong, your losses aren't capped. "The market can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent". That can apply equally to short sellers or over-leveraged longs. Unleveraged long investors can sit on an underperforming stock and wait it out (maybe getting dividends too).

Hi. If I can ask, how do you think about valuation, especially for MA? I own MA, and have owned since a month or two after the IPO. This is one of my few 'moat' companies. I am just holding on tight. Valuation might be stretched now, but if you think out 10 years the world will be increasingly digital vs cash based. MA is going to benefit from this. I prefer MA over V because MA includes Europe whereas Visa does not. Is this an incredible value play, maybe not here, but I think I'll be happy in 5-10 years verses where shares are at now. What do you mean by this? I think I misunderstand you as my credit card is from Visa. We have both here? VISA Europe is separate from VISA. VISA Europe is owned by financial member institutions not public shareholders. http://usa.visa.com/about-visa/our-business/visa-inc-and-europe.jsp

Most concerns in media are overblown, but it does seem the index case in Texas was grossly mismanaged. 76 hospital staff had contact with him. That seems irresponsible from a containment and planning perspective. Why not have a dedicated staff and equip and train them properly? I predict workers comp lawsuits over this Texas incident. Apparently they also sent his blood samples without additional sealing through the hospital pneumatic tube system, potentially contaminating that as well, and the exterior of every sample that goes through that system.

True, but most flu viruses tend to kill the very young, the very old, or people with other health issues. So it's more of a known and expected outcome. A new virus scares most people precisely because they dont know what to expect, how fast and far it will spread etc. I would be very concerned if there was signs of a flu spreading with characteristics like 1918 pandemic.

Yes, our 5-yr is at 2.75% or something, then the typical 10-year is at 4.6% or something. By some fluke/stroke of luck, I am currently locking into a 10-year at 3.6% which for Canada is a steal. (I think the rate has already move up to 3.8% or something - this is Desjardins). In any case, you are usually talking mid to upper 4s when the 5 year is below 3% which is not great. Hi Mungerville, Why are those rates you are talking about so different from what I see on Desjardins website? http://www.desjardins.com/ca/rates-returns/financing/mortgage-loans/ Their website lists the 10 year fixed rate mortgage at 6.75%

Hi Shalab, Are these numbers sourced from somewhere in this thread? When I look at Vancouver price charts and crunch the numbers I don't see gains that high.

I was just reading the Of Permanent Value by Andy Kilpatrick (1998 edition). It referred to 6% hurdle being based on the rate available on savings at the bank. Does that seem right for that era? The book also mentioned paying 6% interest on early deposits sent by LPs before an opening.

I do think Treasury coerced the FHFA into violating its charter as conservator. The FHFA director has no incentive to hand the keys to Treasury. The Treasury, on the other hand, has billions and billions of reasons to enter the Third Amendment. The problem is when you have to go to court to exercise shareholder rights. That makes it hard to estimate the time required for payoff. Even if the courts agree with the shareholders then it can be a long time before all avenues of appeal are exhausted and you see any money from it. For a good example, look at several of the lawsuits against the US Govt for their actions during the Savings and Loan crisis. Some of those cases dragged on for over 10-15 years. I think some are still ongoing.

There are some people that claim to do this. You can google "perpetual traveler" or "permanent tourist". You might be able to get away with it but that is not to say that you should try. I think you would risk charges of tax evasion. Are you prepared to pay the penalties and back taxes if and when you get caught in the future? Before wasting any time on it, I would recommend speaking with a reputable chartered accountant in your country that specializes in international or off-shore tax issues. Get their opinion which will be specific to your current home country and the countries you intend to travel to. Here are some details specific to Canadians. I have read that if you leave Canada as a perpetual world traveler, and do not become a resident of another country, then you remain a Canadian resident for tax purposes. My guess is that the only way you can achieve this legally is by moving to a country without capital gains taxes and give up residency in your home country.

Sounds like they have chosen an automated dividend processing method that is much cheaper (but which makes some errors with foreign withholding tax). This would greatly lowers their processing costs and allows them to provide cheaper service than other brokers. As you yourself said, the best solution may be to hold those shares at another broker.

http://ibkb.interactivebrokers.com/article/1718#What_if_I_have_a_long_option_which_I_do_not_want_exercised_ ^^I'm almost positive that they cancel the contracts as soon as you enter the instruction (during market hours), but I canceled mine within 3 days of expiration so it could be different if you're a month away. Thank you very much for relaying that anecdote. I had just ended a chat a few minutes ago where I asked the IB representative if I could pay them a fee to buy my position from me. He said "I believe what you are referring to is Cabinet Trades. We do not offer that service at IB". So I was bummed out. You have given me a different question to ask of them now. However I'm afraid it's a different situation. I need it cancelled about 17 days before expiry -- the link you showed me merely talks about forcing them not to exercise under any circumstance. Well, I have 2 more days to go to wait out the wash sale period. The bid is still 2 cents. Probably will be there still. Eric, That is strange, IB makes reference to Cabinet Trades in the footnotes of this page. https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/index.php?f=commission&p=options1 I wonder if this page is out of date, or if you were provided with incorrect information?

Lol, SIRF is Roddy Boyd. Edit: based on the history here... some might suspect him of being a shill for hedge funds with short positions that dont want to get their hands dirty. I'm guessing he doesn't need our charity.

WEB is going for the classic pump and dump scheme. Watch out for him pumping XOM on CNBC next week. ;D

Amen, let's say you adhere to the ideology of 10 stock in a portfolio. Just buy 4500$ of index and 500$ of your best pick. As time go by and you add capital, you can have 5000$ index and 1000$ stock picks... keep increasing the ratio until the index becomes irrelevant. BeerBaron . IMO, this is the best approach to get started! Having a $500 portion in one stock helps get you thinking as a business owner instead of a mutual fund owner. You will be far more motivated to read and learn about your stock holding. I also recommend a low fee index ETF for the remaining balance as the most appropriate for starting out. You can change it later once you've determined your personal investment philosophy.