gfp

In case anybody hasn't read "Trillion Dollar Triage" and has an interest in the history of Fed independence from the White House, this article is basically a big excerpt from the first part of the book - https://www.wsj.com/economy/central-banking/a-brief-history-of-the-feds-uneasy-peace-with-the-white-house-608dee30?mod=hp_lead_pos4

It depends on the subsidiary and how the bulkheads are constructed. I believe a subsidiary of BHE, like Pacificorp for instance, can be put into bankruptcy without the other assets of BHE being risked, much less the parent company holding company. But I'm sure there are exceptions for nefarious asset stripping or fraud. I mean, look at JNJ and the Talc stuff - you don't see all of JNJ at risk.

Warren always said there are certain businesses where you aren't well served by having a "rich parent." He never contemplated being a helmet manufacturer, was one of his examples if I remember correctly. I think his mindset from the insurance industry has served him well over the years in considering as many risks in his other businesses as he can - which is why he gets a little crabby when he misses some.

"In the future" can be an awfully long way away. I wouldn't base your investment decisions on an article citing birth rates and trends. The United States is uniquely positioned as being a very desirable (and apparently easy to sneak into LOL) destination for young, productive (and fertile), immigrants. Many other countries have much more serious demographic problems.

The founder managed to sell a few decent sized blocks at high prices. One of them to a "private fund" which sounded to me like a fund covering a short position. Predictably, they filed a preliminary prospectus to issue a ton of shares if they can get it going in time. Today's volume is high so maybe they got some shares sold? https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1843974/000157587224000368/es106_n2.htm https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1843974/000157587224000367/xslF345X05/ownership.xml

HomeServices has settled their antitrust suit - https://www.wsj.com/business/telecom/warren-buffetts-real-estate-firm-settles-antitrust-matter-for-250-million-e77e87d8 " Dusseault said HomeServices faced potential bankruptcy if it didn’t settle. To even appeal the verdict it likely would have needed to post a bond, which a judge could have set in the billions of dollars. If Berkshire had instead stepped in to bail out its subsidiary, it would have set a precedent that could make other companies under its umbrella an appealing target for litigation. "

I expected a higher GDP print (and I'm always bearish LOL). I think rail traffic is actually fairly normal if you ignore Coal volumes. I don't think coal volumes are a big economic red flag personally. There is some shifting back towards the western railroads again I would imagine. I would expect BNSF to print a decent intermodal number. Auto shipments are high. Petroleum products and chemicals are high. Looks healthy to me as far as rail traffic goes.

https://nlpc.org/corporate-integrity-project/video-nlpc-returns-to-berkshire-hathaway-annual-meeting-one-year-after-chairmans-arrest/ Oh joy... This guy is coming to rant about Bill Gates and Epstein again.

Thanks - these transcripts are getting pretty good. How do they get a name like Gobinath's perfectly transcribed? Must not be AI?

Go short because IFRS is confusing?

Jaygo I notice you always spell "debt" with a "p" - is that a keyboard thing or a country of origin thing or what? Just curious since it has been consistent.

I am certainly not an expert in any of this but I have heard the idea is to have over 100 different things (drones, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles) arriving around the same time at vastly different speeds, altitudes and directions - hoping to confuse the various air defense systems. With so much preparation I assume close to all of them will be shot down but odds are a couple will get through.

Bitcoin was probably the only market that was open. If you feel like reducing risk and raising cash, you go with the markets that are currently open. Bitcoin is always open.

I saw the founder / promoter / whatever you call him sold $4.5m worth at $30/sh. I assume he has sold more since if allowed to. I am unclear if they can issue new shares at a premium to NAV any time soon. I covered my short with all the Levine attention but it’s been an entertaining and profitable distraction. I even held a short overnight one night

Warren told the story either at an annual meeting or in an interview. Nike was the example but he had Lou liquidate his entire portfolio before he left.

So DXYZ traded above $120/ share multiple times after-hours last night and this morning. Interactive brokers still had shares available to short at that time but the borrow rate was 80-90%. Less than half that price currently. NAV $5. Just a bizarre trading sardine

I don't know what they can or can't do but I don't see how they could get that extra capital invested in private companies very quickly. This thing traded $118.75 after hours tonight. (we are talking about DXYZ in case that is not obvious) Matt Levine wrote about it in his column today, so I'm sure a bunch of people learned what it was that hadn't previously heard about it.

There is this crazy school of thought out there that values companies based on their earning power but Carson knows that.

I love it! If you know something please email it to me!

This Destiny Tech100 closed end fund is wild! Lots of entertainment

I feel like the deferred tax liability will factor in heavily here and that he is spending a huge amount of time talking out these companies with Ted and Todd. I would be really surprised to see a position like American Express or Coca-Cola messed with after Warren passes. I could be wrong but my bet is that some of these are truly treated like the rest of the subsidiaries.

Oh wow - yeah that's $4.84 per share vs $75 per share at one point on Friday. Yikes!

Man, even thought this tightened up to around a ten cent daily range you can still take $900 per swing out of this range each trip. I for one have been enjoying the beer money

Good post Cigarbutt. It probably obvious but of course the corporate income tax has been materially reduced as well.

I don't think he still makes the books. He tells some stories about the margin and first BRK share purchase in '83 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6bPl1IXlhs