farnamstreet

According to Kleinbard, Fairfax broadly misrepresented the deal to the IRS. One example cited was the company’s claim that, “Fairfax had complete risk of loss with respect to the purchased shares, and the possibility of benefiting from their long-term appreciation.” http://www.thefinancialinvestigator.com/?p=702

10-Q http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/qtrly/1stqtr12.pdf Earnings Release http://finance.yahoo.com/news/berkshire-hathaway-inc-news-release-210000021.html

I think I did a reasonable job summarizing Taubes book "Why We Get Fat" http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2011/06/why-we-get-fat/

http://justiceholdingsltd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Justice-Is-Best-Served-Flame-Broiled.pdf

I know some of you are fans of Nassim Taleb. I've aggregated all of his amazon.com reviews here: http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2012/02/book-recommendations-from-nassim-taleb/

If you want a complete (searchable) transcript and don't want to mess with two thousand clicks, see here. http://goo.gl/rf90i

It's still not clear to me why he hasn't been charged with insider trading. A failure to consider his sale of Biglari Capital to Steak-n-Shake given his position and knowledge of a material insider (and non-public) event, which was likely to, and subsequently did, impact the stock price only because he held those shares through a hedge fund he controlled completely avoids the typical insider trading red flags but the end result is the same: an insider benefiting from material non-public information. A failure to find this type of transaction to be considered "insider trading" dramatically extends the reach of "insiders" and opens the flood gates as insiders can now, easily and cheaply, insulate themselves from insider trading charges simply by holding company shares through a hedge fund they control and selling the fund management co. This creates a totally perverse incentive. I can't believe no one as wsj or nyt has written this up.

The presentation is here (pdf) You can watch the entire 2.5 hour video here *updated to include link to PDF.

On February 8, 2012, Fairholme Capital Management will broadcast an interview with Bruce Berkowitz, Chief Investment Officer. Fred Fraenkel, Chief Research Officer, will moderate the conversation. Shareholders can submit questions to Bruce via email at investorrelations@fairholme.net by Sunday, January 29th. His answers will be taped and the entire interview will be posted on www.fairholmefunds.com on February 8th. Fairholme hopes this conversation will lead to a better understanding of why Fairholme is staying the course with the portfolio that Bruce has built, and why he thinks that this portfolio will position Fairholme Funds to deliver long-term shareholder value. That is Fairholme’s mantra. http://www.fairholmefunds.com/pdf/ConversationBB.pdf

Awesome http://myinvestingnotebook.blogspot.com/2012/01/secret-billionaire-chuck-feeney-story.html

Regardless of whether you're invested or not, I think most of you will find the *second* day presentation interesting.

http://myinvestingnotebook.blogspot.com/2012/01/ackman-and-cp-e-mail-that-started-it.html ** updated to include the full email

Interesting new site from Sears Brands http://etrainer.fitstudio.com/ From this press release. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Sears-Reinforces-Status-prnews-749584316.html?x=0

And Ackman's response. http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/Pershing_CP_Jan3_2012.pdf

I've watched it and have a transcript of it. I'd say this video is intended for a very broad audience with very little information that would be new (or even interesting) for most on here... If you want a rundown of business from the perspective of a lemonade stand from a future Billionaire, go nuts, but I'm gonna guess that if the content was the exact same and it wasn't Ackman talking, you'd want your money back when the 43 minutes was over. Of concern: If you do purchase this product I suggest you use a visa/master card pre-paid gift-card as the site does not encrypt your session so your credit card it sent in the clear.

The young father stood in line at the Kmart layaway counter, wearing dirty clothes and worn-out boots. With him were three small children. He asked to pay something on his bill because he knew he wouldn't be able to afford it all before Christmas. Then a mysterious woman stepped up to the counter. "She told him, 'No, I'm paying for it,'" recalled Edna Deppe, assistant manager at the store in Indianapolis. "He just stood there and looked at her and then looked at me and asked if it was a joke. I told him it wasn't, and that she was going to pay for him. And he just busted out in tears." At Kmart stores across the country, Santa seems to be getting some help: Anonymous donors are paying off strangers' layaway accounts, buying the Christmas gifts other families couldn't afford, especially toys and children's clothes set aside by impoverished parents. http://goo.gl/S8uiz

....Thomas Friedman was responsible for the Iraq invasion of 2003, and not only he paid no penalties for it but he is still continuing to have the Op-Ed page of the New York Times confusing innocent people. He got —and kept —the upside, others get the downside. A journalist with arguments can harm more people than any serial criminal. I am singling him here because, at the core, the problem is his promotion of misunderstanding of complex systems … Natural systems work by penalties: no perpetual free option given to anyone. So does society in many things with visible effects. If someone drives a school bus blindfolded, and has an accident, he either exits the gene pool the old fashioned way, or, if for some reason he is not harmed by the accident, he will incur enough penalties to be prevented to drive other people ever again. The problem is that the journalist Thomas Friedman is, at the time of writing, still driving the bus. There is no penalty for journalists who harm society. And this is a very bad practice as we will see a few examples the current Obama administration is populated with people who drove the bus blindfolded —and still are. They get promoted.... http://goo.gl/Itq78

Anyone looking to better understand Sardar, should read this book. http://amzn.to/uJXZ69 The author, Fridson, was on the board at Western Sizzlin. I know Biglari has read this book (and loved it). While reading it, I couldn't help but thinking I was reading Biglari's playbook.

"The capital allotment decisions I will make will shape the organization. Therefore, Biglari Holdings is a jockey stock. You are choosing the jockey; I am choosing the horses. It would be asinine to bet on the jockey and then deny him the saddle or whip."

For anyone interested in a transcript of Charlie Munger and Becky Quick's 2 hour conversation at the University of Michigan in 2010. http://myinvestingnotebook.blogspot.com/2011/12/transcript-conversation-with-charlie.html

If you're still looking for the perfect gift for that book lover on your list, here is a round up of some of the booklists I've posted on Farnam Street. http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2011/12/the-ultimate-book-lovers-list-of-lists/

http://goo.gl/pv6QT

Talks about BAC, Bank of Ireland, JEF, Japan, Buffett, IBM, RIM (briefly), MSFT, and others. http://myinvestingnotebook.blogspot.com/2011/11/manual-of-ideas-interview-with-guy.html

http://myinvestingnotebook.blogspot.com/2011/11/bill-ackman-pershing-square-3q-2011.html

Fairholme Funds: presentation on Bank of America