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woltac

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Posts posted by woltac

    Obama to cap tax-preferred retirement accts to $3MM

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    "Be it in the form of higher taxes, reduced benefits/entitlements, reduced govt spending on public services, inflation, and other more direct means of confiscating ones wealth."

     

    That is true, but I think that the way it is managed now or to only get money from the wealthier that this will lead to a very large power shift from countries that have very generous entitlement programs to those that have less or with better controls in place. It is very clear at this point, to me anyway, that entitlements are the root cause of most if not all of our fiscal and budget issues. These programs eliminate fear for individuals since they can always rely on that safety net for food, shelter, healthcare, etc. While it appears to be a good and charitable thing, this leads to higher costs overall, lack of incentives, abuse and lack of productivity which in the end is not without consequences in a competitive world. And once people feel entitled to something, it is really hard to take it back and near impossible with the power of votes.

     

    Unless higher taxes/confiscation is done in a synchronized way on a global basis, which I think is impossible, the rich will move to places where their capital is sought after to create enterprises and invest and not to subsidize people who constantly blame them for all their woes. They will even accept a one time tax hit to get out. These countries will enjoy higher currencies, higher standard of living, less unemployment while the other ones will be in terminal decline. This takes a long time to play out or a few decades, but will be the end result.

     

    Cardboard     

     

    +1. 

     

    To quote Warren Buffett "I think it is true, but I'm happy he said it"

    Review of Past Performance

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I also use quicken to track everything including my investment accounts. 

     

    You can download brokerage activity from your TD Waterhouse account directly into the program.  Not sure how far back the activity at TD Waterhouse would be available though.

    Corner of Berkshire & Fairfax Message Board - 11th Anniversary!

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I remember being on the old msn board reading about the wonderful advice on FFH Leaps and like a fool I ignored it.  I have learned a lot over the years reading some very intelligent; well thought out investment/financial advice from many of the board members.  Thank you everyone for making this into a world class message board!!! 

     

    I gotta make it to the board meeting in Toronto one of these days to place some of the board names with the faces--if they'll let me into Canada.  lol

     

    Sanjeev, to you especially, thank you so much for creating such a wonderful investment community.  Thank you for being so kind with your time, knowledge, and ideas that you have shared with us over the years!

     

    +1!

    2012 Returns

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    19.66% per Quicken with some cd interest that has yet to be entered.  Very good year for me.  Thank you to everyone on the board for the help.

     

    BRK.B, BAC/BAC.WSA, AMX & LUK are the largest positions.  Smaller positions in MTB, MKL & Altius. Also have some money in mutual funds (Longleaf & Fidelity Selects).

    HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Happy New Year to all!

     

    Thank you to Parsad for hosting this excellent board and to everyone that shares their investment thoughts so freely.  I have been a beneficiary of the content since the board was hosted on MSN and was planning to move to full time investor, which would allow me to post more often in 2013.  It looks like that will not happen and I will be relegated to newbie  status for another year.

     

    Who knows, if BAC continues its climb maybe it will happen after all.  Go BAC!

     

     

    What are they thinking?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    You cannot be serious. If you were on the losing side of his trade, even if Raj didn't know the information you still would have made the trade anyways. Given that the trade would have been made anyway, being on the losing side of Raj's trade makes him deserve 10 years in prison?

     

     

    Here is an example of a guy who got 10 years in prison:

    http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/10/professional-clown-gets-10-years-in-prison-for-raping-girl.html

     

     

    Is it illegal? Sure...but it is not a significant harm at all. I don't see why "being on the losing side of the trade" should be punished the same as a fricking child rapist.

     

    Are you serious? You really don't see what's wrong with going to the casino and it being rigged or not against you even if you don't know and would have played there anyway?

    That is such bull****. The other side would have made the trade ANYWAYS. They have not been harmed in any way, yet at the same time you seriously think that it's just as bad as a child rapist? Really?

     

     

    I hope you don't have kids!

     

    Many factors are considered when a person is sentenced for committing a crime.

     

    Raj maintained his innocence, put the government (the taxpayers) through a two month trial and has not accepted responsibility for his actions.  The rapist you refer to  plead out to the crime in a negotiated plea that "considered the wishes of the victim."  Victims in violent crimes are put under enormous strain and this works in the defendant's favor at times.  In order to enter into the plea, the defendant was required to admit to his actions and thus save the state and the victim from a trial. 

     

    A true comparison between the Raj sentence and the rapist's sentence is very complicated. 

     

    Perhaps the rapist sentence was too lenient rather that Raj's sentence being too harsh.

     

    What are they thinking?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I'm not saying that he should be shown leniency because of his good work. Rather, I think insider trading shouldn't be punished as severely as it is. A benign crime like that shouldn't put Raj in jail for 10 years.

     

    I can't believe that one would consider this a benign crime although it is considered that way when the politicians do it. I guess it's okay how the securities commission looks the other way on the rest of the things going on with wall street. It's all benign anyway.

     

    If this is so harmful, want to tell me who was exactly harmed by Rajaratnam trading on info that Goldman was about to get an investment from Buffett? Then once you've identified the victimized party, explain to me how that deserves ten years in prison.

     

    $75.00 fine, payable by mail.  ;)

    Selling related question

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I read the same book a while back and initially thought the stop loss concept would help my returns.  I have yet to find a situation where I wanted to use a stop loss.  Of course, I don't sell very often and when I do it is usually to reinvest in something else, so maybe the concept does not fit my investment style.

     

    The flash crash issue also scares me. 

     

    woltac

    Blind Evaluation #3

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Looks like a very disciplined business. 

     

    Positves:

    • Long term debt paid off

    • Buying in shares

    • No defined benefit pension plan

    • Steady gross & net profit margin

    • Steady increase in Sales/share & EPS

     

    Would like to see the cash flow statement.

     

     

     

    BRK Q1, 2012 BV

    in Berkshire Hathaway

    Posted

    If buying under 1.1 times book is important to you, sell the Dec12 $80 puts at $4.30 (Friday's close) and either have BRKB put to you at a cost of $76.64 or earn 9.6% annualized on the money you tie up until December. 

     

    Not a bad result either way.  Of course if BRKB is substantially below $76.64 or substantially above $85.24 you will not be a happy camper.  Crystal ball anyone?

     

    Weird

    in Berkshire Hathaway

    Posted

    I agree with dcollon.  Although the quotes in the article sound accurate, the discussion was much longer than the three quotes cited would lead one to believe.  I got the impression that the purchase did not work out for other reasons. 

    As BAC stock continues to fall, interesting perspective

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Gentlemen,

     

    Thank you for the lively debate.

     

    A platitude is a trite, meaningless, biased, or prosaic statement, often presented as if it were significant and original.

     

    Perhaps the bulls are relying to some extent on audited financial statements, a CEO with a past history of integrity who appears to be doing the right things, a change in the Fed's attitude about worst case results of the failure of large financial institutions, etc.  rather than platitudes.

     

    I have no stake in this fight at the moment, but thanks to this thread I will do some research to determine if I should.

     

    Thanks again,

     

    woltac

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