Baoxiaodao

Well, there are always two sides to the coin but I guarantee you a hilarious read as I chuckled so many times while listening.

I started this book and dropped it after reading about 20%. To my simple mind, things become complicated after mathematical equations appear. This book is about preserving wealth, not making big bucks. I still think buying an index fund is way better and simpler to enjoy life for 99% of people.

must read

Direct link: http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/177_58/wells-fargo-caps-loan-value-ratio-third-party-lenders-1047789-1.html A new report from Amherst Securities found that some megabanks are making 3.5 to 7 points of profit on HARP 2.0 loans, in part because they are charging higher than market rates for the loans. On industry advisor close to the issue, and who spoke under the condition his name not be used, said on a $200,000 loan (for example) some lenders have the ability to earn $10,000 in profit per loan. "They can earn up to 10 points," he said, but that profit margin only applies to loans that are already in their servicing portfolio. The advisor noted that Wells is not doing anything wrong – but simply sees a huge market opportunity to earn a ton of money.

Howard Marks is one worth listening to. Thanks!

Thanks J, that is a very good one.

I had to sell Jumbo due to account consolidation @.44. However, I am totally OK because I am pretty sure I will hold until today if I was not forced to sell. I also had to sell Delticom at 68, and it went up right after the sale. This year so far is a disaster. A managed account with almost totally different holdings has 26% YTD with negative leverage and no derivatives, on top of 20% gain last year. This account more or less represents the true performance. I did buy some EGD in my RRSP account... but only a few hundred shares... Bart, I am extremely conservative with with any investments I make. In SMT Scharf's case, I can see where it will go and why it will go there. Coal price is a factor, but regardless of it, SMT Scharf should do well in the long run. In EGD's case, I am not so sure. I am not used to that kind of dilution and this story requires tremendous growth down the road the make the ROIC acceptable. Maybe I am just an old guy and too nervous about risks. Well, on the other hand, I did buy into Russia, where people hate and distrust, through a Swedish equity called Vostok Nafta. It is so funny people are focusing on the short term politics and ignoring the change already in place. I would like to ask, 20 years ago, if so many people had went on street in Russia or China, what would happen? It is naive to believe democracy is always right and dictatorship is always wrong. I do not like Putin, but I think Putin will do a better job to grow the economy than the liberals from the West will. You know when China was run by engineers, its economy expanded 30 years almost nonstop; now that those freaking economists(I think they deserve this word) are trying to give out advice, I could not help but worrying about China's future.

Hey Bart, it surprised me that someone actually paid attention to my writing :P I was surprised that the CEO chose to leave at this moment, but the rational choice for him at this moment, is probably to move on to a better opportunity. Please note this is pure guessing. The CEO owns some shares which were sold to him at low price. However, he had no options and in the last few years, shares were distributed to all employees but him. So financially, with the current compensation structure, there is very limited upside if he stays on. This is an example where if options are used wisely, good people will be kept on board. As a shareholder, it is hard to say if this is a curse of blessing. At this moment, if he got a good offer with improved compensation, he will probably move on. Dr. Trautwein is still young and it would not surprise me he has the desire to pursue better life. I tried to check out this new CEO on Google but had no idea about him. I am always suspicious about entrepreneur type with a big smile. He sold his company in 2008 and stayed on for a while. Then he moved to SMT Scharf. The only speculation at the moment is that he might do a deal when the price is right. Ludowici Limited in AU got competing offers in the last few weeks. Although its business is nothing compared to SMT Scharf's, you can have an idea what a right price will be if there is an offer. I still think the growth prospect for SMT Scharf is good although I do keep an eye on coal price. This is a company offering right products at the right time and in the right places. When I stated I have a hurdle rate of 40% on this board, many of you guys think this is unrealistic. However, I think at today's price, with some luck, 40% annualized return for the next three years is still possible.

I thought I was the only one finding this. I stopped reading the Economist a few months ago. Could you guys elaborate with some specific examples? Are you sure that it's not your own positions that have changed over time? Liberty, I think I might exaggerate it. It is probably only me who found most publications are not worthwhile reading. With publications I meant newspapers, magazine, etc. I used to read Economist page by page, but nowadays it is getting harder to find something interesting. Maybe I read too much of it.

I thought I was the only one finding this. I stopped reading the Economist a few months ago.

An interesting side topic is the willingness of people to pay for good content. I picked up Financial Times every day last year from my school. And right after they cancelled the subscription, I missed it a lot. The subscription costs 350e or around 470 USD in Finland, but after thinking about it, I am going to subscribe. I paid 79/year for WSJ and got 20 Amazon gift card in rebate. However, even at this price, this is a totally or near totally waste of money. The newspaper, in my opinion, has failed in capturing what is happening around the world if you compare it to Financial Times.

If you just want to get educated, then all those things you mentioned above is OK in my opinion. But for successful investing, there is really no need to read any of them. Even today I regretted for paying 59/year for WSJ. One thing I recommend is the Financial Times. I can be easily absorbed into this paper for more than half an hour a day.

A few interesting comments on that article too. Man, I have to admit Chinese has a habit buying real estate regardless of price. You may even call this an addiction. Still, one has to punt into perspective that this is really an arbitrage for 3rd world rich people like Chinese. Even at today' price, you can buy a far better quality home in Canada than in China. That being said, it is now the marginal purchasing power that is supporting the sky-high price. This may go on for a while. Stay tuned.

I am so curious about people here talking about China like they do know China. No offense, but the situation there is probably so complicated that any conclusions are not more than educated guesses. China is a place I feel thoroughly mystified as I grow older and acquire more knowledge. Yes, I myself is a Chinese. Let's just wait and see.

Thanks! Have you looking into Finland? I would really like you to comment on this one!