Kraven

I am looking forward to this book. I see some advance copies have gone out since there are 2 reviews of it on Amazon.

These types of issues are a bit naive. It is only in the sheltered world of the (value) investor that people believe that the primary goal of every company with outside shareholders is to maximize shareholder value. Believe it or not, not every CEO is greedy because they focus on other things. There are many constituencies from suppliers to debt holders to employees. Everyone's interests need to be balanced. Squeezing everyone other than equity holders to get that last penny is viewed as producing "mouth watering" returns to stockholders, but it isn't real life in most cases.

I expect to see the following headline someday: Buffett Speaks; Multiple Value Investors Die of Uncontrollable Orgasming

"I know what you do. You buy a stock and wait for it to be worth more and then you sell it." - my kid

Now I can't tell if you're playing it straight ;) I was kidding about Enron. Just riffing on your Arthur Andersen reference. Oh, crap. I didn't even focus on Enron itself, just common stocks. Nice tie in with Arthur Andersen. I'm slow today.

I just had a 'duh' moment. Of course it must be localized for the US, since tax and advantaged retirement vehicles and various other laws are different in the US... Otherwise you'd have been reading about RRSP and provincial tax. Does you version recommend buying Enron shares? Of course, that didn't occur to me either. I don't recall any mention of Enron shares. I just flipped pages and didn't see anything about Enron or any other common stocks. In fact, Roy admonishes his young charges that he doesn't know anything about analyzing stocks and doesn't know anyone who knows how. He tells them to invest in stocks one needs a "sixth sense" and asks them if they know anyone who became rich "buying and selling stocks".

I believe Wealthy Barber was also a big hit in the States. I recall reading actually a couple editions of it in the 90's at some point. That was a pretty good book for what it is. I remember the story around which Chilton weaves the investment advice was well done. I always remembered the first part of the book when the main character talks about how great spring is because school is almost over (I believe he was a teacher) and one had the Tigers, Pistons and Red Wings on tv all at the same time (he's supposed to be in Detroit). Interesting. Looks like they made a version localized for the U.S., because Wikipedia says the story is set in Sarnia, Ontario: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealthy_Barber Wikipedia also says: "The basis of the book is Roy's advice to "save 10 per cent of all that you earn and invest it for long-term growth." In that, it draws from the advice first set forth in The Richest Man in Babylon. " I didn't realize that. I just pulled it off the shelf. It doesn't say anything about it being tailored to the US, but it is "as seen on PBS". It's the "Updated 3rd Edition" which incorporates the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 with assistance from Arthur Andersen so you know all the advice is golden.

I believe Wealthy Barber was also a big hit in the States. I recall reading actually a couple editions of it in the 90's at some point. That was a pretty good book for what it is. I remember the story around which Chilton weaves the investment advice was well done. I always remembered the first part of the book when the main character talks about how great spring is because school is almost over (I believe he was a teacher) and one had the Tigers, Pistons and Red Wings on tv all at the same time (he's supposed to be in Detroit).

I'm not Jay, but I thought it was surprisingly very good. Despite the descriptions, Schwarzman actually had relatively little role in the book. It was more a depiction of Blackstone generally with lots of discussion of individual deals in a manner I found quite interesting. I thought it was one of the better books in that genre.

Ace Greenberg dies. http://online.wsj.com/articles/former-bear-stearns-chief-alan-ace-greenberg-dies-1406309249

Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting, my friends. There's a lot of newer members here so I think it's time to bring back a story I told from last year. Just please remember, we're all value investors here. People, people. Please can we have some civility here. A story might be of assistance. A number of years ago I found myself at a Matzo Ball Christmas Eve Event at the old Palladium in NYC. For those not in the Tribe, these events were essentially big parties for Jews who didn't want to feel left out on Christmas Eve and felt like just eating Chinese food and going to the movies wasn't enough. There was a mixer aspect to it as well. Anyway, the Palladium was a massive club. Thousands were there which I know is surprising for NYC. After a long night of festivities and answering the question "Doctor? lawyer? banker?" from the fairer sex, I found myself in the coat room. For such a large club, the coat room was surprisingly small. It became very crowded and people started to push and some small fights broke out. Although these were of the slap and push variety, it was still terrifying. From the back of the room, over the din of the crowd, a lone voice of reason could be heard. It said, "People, please stop. We're all Jews here!" And you know what? Nothing really stopped, but still it was helpful. So I say to you, people, please stop, we're all value investors here.

Hey everybody, who do you think is better between Republicans and Democrats?

Yes, exactly. There is no right way to invest. Knowing thyself is the key point. One has to do what works for them and what feels comfortable. Investing isn't some ivory tower endeavor. It's not purity incarnate. It's a means to an end. It's about making money. If one can make money because they have a system for picking lottery ticket winners, then that's what they should do. If one can invest by looking at squiggly lines, then they'd be foolish to do something else that didn't work as well for them.

Good analogy. I understand that people in Auschwitz were known to say that being there was just like having their investments drop in value.

Do they read 500 pages a day?

I heard the inside scoop on this. Here's what happened. Bill went to the grocery store for the first time in over 25 years and couldn't believe the prices. He got worried and decided that having all his wealth in Microsoft stock and various other investments wasn't secure enough so he figured he should develop some alternative streams of income. He ran into a book publisher who told him that if he pushed this book, and got Buffett to do so too, he would pull down 3 cents for every copy sold. The original offer was 2 cents, but Gates is a tough negotiator and got it bumped up to 3 cents.

John Brooks was a very well known writer in his day. Kind of like the Michael Lewis of his time. The Go-Go Years is worth reading and is enjoyable. If memory serves, I'm pretty sure Michael Lewis wrote the forward on a re-issue of that one years ago. In any case, I find it hard to believe that a collection of business profiles put together in the late 1960s is his favorite business book of all time.

Of course that's the case. I figured there was some connection and saw that too. It's interesting how Buffett's favorite business book of all time is one he's never mentioned before. It's not like he's never mentioned favorite books before or isn't talking non-stop. My guess is the book is coming out, someone somehow reached out to Buffett (and Gates through him) and said "Warren, remember John Brooks? He always loved you. Really loved you. No, it's not the John Brooks who runs the deli you like. Yeah, it's the John Brooks who was a writer. Well, we're re-releasing one of his old books and a blurb from you would really have made him feel good. He always spoke and wrote highly of you. If you could say something nice about this book that you read once over 40 years ago that would be appreciated."

Since the board is a little slow of late I thought I would try to come up with some topics for discussion. Believe me, there's no pride of authorship here so feel free to adapt as you see fit. 1. Is Eddie still dreamy? 2. Are Buffett and Munger old? 3. Meditation: for the hip or the hippie? 4. Can FFH continue to do 15% a year in perpetuity?

I remember reading about this in a Tom Clancy novel many years ago. In the book it was used by the Soviets as an interrogation technique. After 30 minutes in the tank the guy cracked (it felt like many hours had passed to him). Not sure I'd pay for this experience. Bad things can happen. See Altered States - http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altered_States

The Twin Cities is the nickname for Minneapolis-St. Paul in Minnesota. They are essentially two large cities that have grown into each other over time. So the OP asked about opportunities in the Minneapolis area and Buffett used the nickname in reply to refer to the entire area.

I don't really like starbucks coffee either but their service is great. Their bathroom is clean so you can count on them when you need to go on long trips. And they have consistent WIFI. When I go to the supermarket though, I always buy Peetes, never starbucks beans. I never understand the appeal of Starbucks coffee itself (as distinct from the stores, which I agree are perfectly nice). I would rather get coffee from Dunkin' Donuts, McDonald's or 7-11. It's a fraction of the price and tastes much better. At 7-11 you can serve yourself too.

I had emailed the fine people at Dataroma to add Abrams, and it looks like there was enough interest in including him. I'm intrigued by the non-equity holdings in the portfolio of guys like Baupost and Abrams. Does anyone know if it is possible to look up their debt holdings? Could anyone also recommend a book (similar in genre to You Can Be A Stock Market Genius) that walks through the type of analysis you'd have to do and the investment process? Thanks I got them to add Chuck Akre and a couple others. They turned me down on Eric Ende from FPA, but I'd rather know what's he's buying than Steve Rommick any day. I wish they would add uncle Carl, Keith Meister and the MHR guy; name escapes me, ex-icahn and he's a doctor...Lion's gate is one of his big deals. Mark Rachesky, I believe.

Predominantly? A sighting of a female on this board is only slightly more rare than a sighting of Big Foot, the Yeti or the Loch Ness Monster.

[amazonsearch]Deep Value: Why Activists Investors and Other Contrarians Battle for Control[/amazonsearch] Tobias Carlisle, co-author of Quantitative Value, has a new book coming out called Deep Value. It's available for pre-order on Amazon, but the price is pretty steep at about $70.