dcollon

From Bloomberg: Love Him or Hate Him, Bill Ackman Now Runs the World’s Top Hedge Fund http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-06/love-him-or-hate-him-ackman-now-runs-the-world-s-top-hedge-fund.html

[amazonsearch]The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King: Inside the Richest Poker Game of All Time[/amazonsearch] ScottHall mentioned this book in the thread about Andy Beal, so I bought it two days ago. Needless to say I couldn't put it down. Over the years I have tried to read anything I can find on Andy Beal and how he has run his bank. There is very little that has been written about him, so I found it very interesting to read about his focus on poker. The stories in the book are pretty amazing. Andy Beal became unbelievably focused on playing and competing against the best poker players in the world. He worked incredibly hard over the course of about four years to try and get an edge. It was very interesting since the money did not seem to matter to him, it was more the process and the challenge. I also enjoyed learning more about some of the poker legends like Doyle Brunson, Howard Lederer, etc... For anyone interested in Andy Beal or large stakes poker, I think you will enjoy this book.

"Beal Bank USA’s headquarters in Summerlin is as plain and suburban as they come. It’s a strip-mall storefront, just two doors from a Domino’s Pizza and near a Hallmark store and McDonald’s. It’s no ordinary branch, though. It holds about $2.2 billion in deposits, one of the largest stockpiles of any bank branch in Southern Nevada." http://www.vegasinc.com/business/2014/dec/31/beal-banks-lv-headquarters-tiny-its-22b-deposits-p/

This book was fantastic. Thank you all for the recommending it. What a great story and it gave me a completely new appreciation for Mr. Walton and his family.

I found it to be an enjoyable book. There was nice coverage of a lot of businesses that don't often get discussed like MiTek, Marmon, Clayton, etc...Mr. Cunningham did a nice job of covering the history of them. The discussion of all the different components of what makes Berkshire special won't be surprising to many on this board, but I liked the way the key topics were broken out in the book with examples of businesses used to highlight the key qualities.

It's a great book. However, I'm biased because I generally enjoy whatever Atul Gawande writes.

James Montier: The Stock Market is Hideously Expensive (see attached article) Montier_The_Stock_Market_is_Hideously_Expensive.pdf

I finally got around to reading this book and it was fantastic. My two favorite stories in the book were "the last great corner" the story of Piggly Wiggly and "in the defense of sterling" about the devaluation of the pound and the struggles of monetary policy. However, all the stories were entertaining and it was a great business history book. Thanks for the recommendation.

Guy has some very nice comments about the Corner of Berkshire & Fairfax in this video. Starts around 20 mins into the video. Forgive me if this has already been posted. http://www.valuewalk.com/2014/11/guy-spier-boston-college-presentation-october-2nd-2014/

A different look at Fairholme's quarterly holdings Fairholme_13f.xls

A little more detail in the attached Arlington_Value.xls

Thanks for posting the lectures.

For some time, I’ve hated the financial market. When the history of this period is written, the Fed presidents and those who have deployed quantitative easing will be glorified as great snake-oil marketers. http://www.thinkadvisor.com/2014/10/27/bob-rodriguez-new-great-recession-coming-in-3-year?page_all=1

Calpers CIO Explains Decision To Drop Hedge Funds http://www.valuewalk.com/2014/10/calpers-cio-explains-decision-drop-hedge-funds-video

Fall 2014 http://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/valueinvesting/sites/valueinvesting/files/Graham%20%26%20Doddsville_Issue%2022_Fall%202014.pdf

[amazonsearch]Learn or Die: Using Science to Build a Leading-Edge Learning Organization [/amazonsearch] By Edward Hess This was an interesting book and one that I would recommend, especially if you follow Bridgewater and Ray Dalio. There is a lot of discussion on what makes the firm unique and why in the authors opinion they have been so successful in creating a very open culture. I enjoyed the focus on why continuous learning is so important, but also what kind of work environment needs to be created by management at larger organizations to improve learning. The character traits of people who embrace learning are also discussed in detail and were helpful to think about while I was reading.

Cooperman: I don't see a lot of excesses in market (CNBC) http://www.cnbc.com/id/102102682

Fannie, Freddie Near Deal That Promises to Boost Mortgage Lending per WSJ Fannie_Freddie_Near_Deal_That_Promises_to_Boost_Mortgage_Lending_-_WSJ_-_WSJ.pdf

I'm still betting that the flu will kill more people this year than Ebola. Maybe next year will be different.

Exit strategy on Buffett deal? Not so fast, says Larry Van Tuyl http://www.autonews.com/article/20141013/OEM02/141019958/exit-strategy-on-buffett-deal-not-so-fast-says-larry-van-tuyl

Oct. 10 (Bloomberg) -- JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon, Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman, Deutsche Bank AG Co-CEO Anshu Jain, and Bank of America Corp. CEO Brian Moynihan speak about the outlook for the financial industry, including cyber security risks. http://www.bloomberg.com/video/dimon-sees-jpmorgan-cyber-security-costs-may-double-bCFSpPEfQuq6dUM056dvRg.html?cmpid=yhoo

I found this interview and the company Theranos to be very interesting. I realize this is somewhat off the topic of investing, but I thought some of you would enjoy learning about a trans formative concept in healthcare. Here is the company's website http://www.theranos.com/ Here is an interview with the founder http://techcrunch.com/video/jon-shieber-gets-some-blood-work-done-with-elizabeth-holmes-of-theranos-2/518405804/

“You would think that people would be lining up now to get mortgages to buy a home,” Buffett said today at a conference hosted by Fortune magazine in Laguna Niguel, California. “It’s a good way to go short the dollar, short interest rates. It is a no-brainer. But so far home construction pickup has been slower than I had anticipated.” http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-07/buffett-says-no-brainer-to-get-mortgage-to-short-rates.html

Great video. Thanks for posting JoelS

Berkowitz’s Fairholme Loses Annual Gain on Fannie-Freddie http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-02/berkowitz-s-fairholme-loses-annual-gain-in-day-on-fannie-freddie.html