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Perhaps having your candidates writing a research report on why a particular stock is their best idea for your contest (in addition to just picking a stock) would be more helpful to determine their analytical capacity.

I hope you get some talented candidates, and not just lucky ones, using this method.

Our society disagrees with you. Our society believes that it is unfair and illegal to make false statements about people. Don't hang out on Yahoo then or any other messageboard for that matter. That society doesn't give a hoot. And don't turn on the television. If you feel the need to defend yourself against someone else's statement, then go for it. I just think its all a bit silly, and frankly a bit childish the direction these threads have been going lately. I guess if someone calls me a moron for an investment idea i recommend it just doesn't bother me b/c i'm not responsible for someone else's opinions and i don't try to please everyone or anyone, or try to prove to someone that i am not a moron. Maybe i am :-\

Your good name is either maintained or lost through your own behaviour. Well said. edit: by the way, i'm not implying that you are pumping low cap stocks by the above mentioned statement. I don't think you are.

thank you. i might have overlooked it otherwise. sent in a few questions of my own.

Hey Watsa, it's been a while where have you been? Agreed. Been a while randian_hero... Miss some of your always interesting posts/ideas. One of the few whose ideas i always looked into when i read them, if even for just a second. Hope life isn't keeping you too busy. Cheers.

Many speculate that if Portugal, Greece, or whomever were booted out of the Euro (voluntarily, or not), that it would be proof of a currency structure that is flawed and that such an event would lead to a massive devaluation of the Euro vs the dollar. That may be the case temporarily, or psychologically, but i think it would only strengthen the Euro significantly further over the medium-term, if they booted out the weak countries/economies. It is a difficult, flawed structure over the very long term to have so many different countries with their own cultures and policies intertwined in such a way, but getting rid of the weak hands would only help the Euro and not cause a massive unwind in my opinion.

I got interested about a month or two back when the CRL came back without any major safety or efficacy issues, yet the share price fell precipitously. Seemed the only issue raised (at that time) was the changing of the delivery method, which appears to be much better.

I was curious if any one else here is following MNKD that has any thoughts?

Prunes, In a manager finding someone you trust, whose investment style you understand, and who has their own money in their fund is important as you seem to already know. Paper trail is important, but one of my biggest criteria would be that when i look at their holdings i can understand why they hold what they hold. In your personal investing, don't get too overconfident in your abilities, especially while you are young and have a fair amount of money already saved. When i was in my early 20s i had a bit of money that i was overconfident with and took some lumps because of it. Just because i knew what a p/e ratio was, and a little balance sheet analysis knowledge, and read a few Warren Buffett books, i though i had it all figured out....Know you limits. A little knowledge in stock analysis can be a dangerous thing. The recurring theme on this board is to not over-diversify, which i agree with, but you have to be very sure you understand what you are doing if you take this approach. Most managers fail to beat the market over the long term for a reason! Happy Investing!

I'm trustee for a few trusts right now, so i had to learn some of this stuff at a young age. Mind you, i said trustee, not beneficiary... I won't get into the whole distribution of wealth stuff, but yes there is not a tax on unrealized gains. In fact many states no longer have "inheritance taxes". There is a federal estate tax, which is different than the inheritance tax (many people use them interchangeably), but that doesn't even kick in until you hit the $5 million mark, or $10 million if you do some estate planning. Some states have inheritance taxes, some have state estate taxes, a few have both..., a few have neither. All have the federal estate tax, but the exemption is high. Unless you are in that ballpark i wouldn't even sweat it for your own estate, unless you live in the wrong state.

When you die your assets get up a step-up basis. You aren't taxed on unrealized gains, no matter how long you've held the asset or how big the unrealized gain. Your assets transfer to your heirs at the market value on date of death, and that date of death value becomes the heir's new cost basis.

It is really sad the direction CNBC has gone over the last 5-7 years.

Research analysts aren't dumb. The majority of them are very sharp people actually, and many realize the futility of their 6-12 price targets and ratings, yet they are forced to please the masses that want to know where they think a stock will be a few months away, hence the price targets and rating...the whole fast money culture. It's amazing how many large institutional buy side clients will call you and ask you where they stock will be next month. As if....The ONLY value they provide, and with many analysts they do provide good value, is their research on how they come to their conclusions, and their knowledge of specific products, strategies, or industries. Many don't know how to properly value a company for a long term shareholder, but the majority of them do.. Of course, there are the outlier analysts as well who begin to believe their own price targets/ratings, after they publish a report and see that they have the shocking power to move a stock up or down 7% on a simple change to a buy rating and believe their own hype.

Yes. There aren't that many differences between GAAP and IFRS, and where there are differences they are fairly easy to convert one to the other. They are both trying to serve the same purpose in accurately representing the business, but go about a few things in different ways they deem more appropriate in getting to the same objective. You might as well begin learning IFRS though, if you are at the earlier stages of learning accounting. Be careful reading older books though. There have been some changes over the past 5-10 years in GAAP, and you might be learning outdated info that no longer applies.

14 Current equity holdings of (no particular order): MBI, AGO, JNJ, MAAL, DELL, MSFT, OSTK, HANS, EVI, TOF, FTR, BAC, WINN, MNKD Equity LEAPS: JNJ, SD, MSFT

Who really knows what to believe. Even if the Japanese do know how dire a situation it might be, they certainly don't want to instill panic. Zero hedge reports on an interesting AP news article suggesting Japan has raised the legal radiation does for nuke workers. The Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare raised the maximum allowable exposure for nuclear workers to 250 millisieverts from 100 millisieverts. It described the move as "unavoidable due to the circumstances." Safe to assume that at the time of the article the exposure there was above the previously safe version of 100 millisieverts.

I've read a bit on the subject, and it seems a more permanent affected area would not stretch near as far as Tokyo, but there can be temporary particles blown in all around the area which if are at dangerous levels may effect the people, animals, ground, farms and crops, water of the surrounding areas in which people may consume over time without knowing of what they are consuming is safe.

Perhaps some education is in order so we all maintain our perspective on what is and isn't meaningful information. https://self-evident.org/?p=893 Ben I know less than nothing on the topic of nuclear radiation, but people in Tokyo are beginning to panic. http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/03/15/japan-quake-tokyo-idUKL3E7EF0JS20110315 Meanwhile Anderson Cooper is reporting about 60 kilometers from the plant.

http://www.xe.com/news/2011/03/15/1767097.htm?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=TL&utm_content=NOGEO&utm_campaign=News_RSS_Art3 http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/official-says-slightly-elevated-radiation-levels-detected-in-tokyo-no-health-threat-so-far/2011/03/15/ABdRBFW_story.html http://www.zerohedge.com/article/tokyo-update-radiation-level-23-times-normal DJ Tokyo Metropolitan Govt: Radiation Level 23 Times Normal Amount DJ Tokyo Metropolitan Govt: No Immediate Harm To Human Health From Radiation In Central Tokyo Could you possibly imagine Tokyo being a harmful radioactive area. My God. The central government warned that radiation levels near a quake-stricken nuclear plant are now harmful to human health, following two explosions and a fire earlier in the day. The plant is 250 kilometres (155 miles) northeast of Tokyo.

Wow! Nikkei is now down over 20% in 3 days. This is historical on so many levels, Nikkei stock market included.

The O.co site design still needs work for sure. Comparing it to Amazon.com...-It is funny if you take away the brand power of Amazon and go to their site, then Amazon.com looks like something out of 2001. It looks a bit "old school" from the early internet days. Though it is very simple and efficient, and very smart with good recommendations.

I'd be willing to bet the company itself doesn't even have a reliable estimate yet. So many times we have heard initial estimate figures for insurance companies, and the like, when a disaster occurs only to find it way off the mark.

That picture is ridiculous. It is one thing to have a 4 screen terminal, a laptop, and a tv screen, but come on!

I wonder if their idea of turning O.co into more of a lifestyle site over time (as opposed to a pure shopping site) will pay off in the end. They are at the early stages of the transformation, so it will be interesting to see how it develops.