Liberty

I think LBTYA sold off because it ticked a few boxes: 1) hedge fund hotel (all stocks popular with HFs sold more than market during that period) 2) leveraged 3) europe 4) complex (especially with unknowns about VOD deal at the time, CWC transaction that the market doesn't seem to like/understand, etc). The good news is that none of this impacts the long-term fundamentals, and it has allowed the company to buy back a fair amount of stock at low prices.

Some stuff that MMM wrote to correct inacurracies or missing detaild in the new yorker piece: http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/new-yorker-article-on-mmm/msg987552/#msg987552

I think lumping all conglomerates or acquisitive companies together a bit like lumping all tech or insurance companies together. It can tell you something, but the real insights are at the company level IMO.

Actually, that's just something he imagined. Here's the full sentence: His wife seems pretty on board. She has written posts on the blog, actually, and did the same thing he did to retire early from the start.

This NewYorker piece provides interesting perspective on the guy. I understand his thought process around frugality and it resonates with me. I was like that when I was younger. But to me the point of money is to trade it in for life enjoyment. To me frugality is a means to an end.... the article says he makes $400K a year from his blog now and yet he doesn't seem willing to make any changes or compromises in any way. That personality seems a bit on the obsessive side. If his wife is completely aligned with those beliefs and practices, then great! Otherwise seems like it wouldn't be much fun to share a house with him. Maybe it is partly for show now to maintain the personality cult that has developed around him from the blog. If you read his stuff, you'll find out that he does exactly what he wants to do (works only on what interests him, takes vacations and travels for as long as he wants, designed his own house to his specifications, spends tons of time with his kid, has lots of time to socialize with his friends, etc). He doesn't feel like spending more would make him happier, so he doesn't. I think the idea of donating that money to charity probably makes him happier than spending it, kind of like Buffett in miniature. If you optimize for happiness and freedom, then spending more isn't necessarily a way to get there. For some people, maybe, but not everyone. For many, spending more means less freedom and more stress, not more happiness.

Profile of MMM in the New Yorker: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/02/29/mr-money-mustache-the-frugal-guru

Agreed. What a wonderful archive of videos it would be if they had started in the early Youtube days..

Buffett will apparently webcast the annual meeting for the first time this year. Great move. http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2016/01/29/for-the-first-time-ever-warren-buffett-plans-to-webcast-berkshires-annual-meeting/

Come on I expected better of you. The biggest retard "on the development team" (hardly lol, he made a few small commits over the years) gets his panties in a bunch because people are not listening to hist stupid suggestions and makes a blog post. Complete non-event. For the record, here is a point by point rebuttal: https://fixingtao.com/2016/01/point-by-point-response-to-mike-hearns-final-bitcoin-post/ Don't expect too much of me about Bitcoin. I just vaguely keep track of what's going on, and I thought a negative article by an insider was interesting. Thanks for posting the rebuttal, I'll have a look.

https://medium.com/@octskyward/the-resolution-of-the-bitcoin-experiment-dabb30201f7#.hz0jeyl6z

http://www.amazon.ca/More-Money-Than-God-Making/dp/0143119419 This is basically a history of the hedge fund industry, with profiles of the biggest names (Soros, Druckenmiller, Steinhart, A.W. Jones, LTCM, Julian Robertson, etc) and vignettes of some of their biggest trades and how they influenced the industry. I thought it was a lot of fun. Probably not a lot that is actionable for most investors, except maybe in understanding the mindset of HFs and why they sometimes react the way they do, but good entertainment.

I've had a chance to read this book while I was on vacation last week. It was quite enjoyable. Shows just how far Beal went to try to be competitive with the pros, and give an idea of just how smart and competitive he is. Those interested in poker trivia/history will particularly enjoy it.

Did about 20% 2015, but I'm not that happy because FX helped a lot and without it, results would be a fair bit worse. I feel like 2015 was a particularly exhausting year for most market participant. That's good. I prefer everyone to be mistrustful and worn out than happy and contented.

Welcome, thanks for sharing your story! :)

Thanks!

Not sure if this one had been posted before. A WIRED interview with Malone from 1994 when he was still at TCI: http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive//2.07/malone_pr.html Via Value Seeker on Twitter (@Find_Me_Value)

Can you share your thesis on this one? Thanks.

Happy holidays to all. Have fun, relax, try to enjoy your family and friends. Cheers!

Amazing! This is going in the history books.

Because we're tribal and that affects cognition heavily: http://lesswrong.com/lw/gw/politics_is_the_mindkiller/

Thanks for sharing your experience with the movie and the crisis. It must be weird to see your old boss and colleagues on the big screen. I also plan to see it, though probably only next month.

Thank you!

There's an interview with Malone here: http://www.multichannel.com/class-professor-malone/395571

Lewis surprised the movie was even made, apparently: http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/11/the-big-short-movie-michael-lewis :D

I think he probably meant AIGFP: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIG_Financial_Products