Charlie

I think the same about the U.S. So everybody can have his illusions about what is far, far away.

Interesting, probably not a bad time to do it. Keep your highest conviction stock or the best stocks suited for a bear market. Valuations are pretty high, a lot of new retail investors are entering the market and everyone is so bullish....

Just google "Warren Buffett A life and legacy".

You can read the transcript at Apple Podcasts. Great interviews!

Warren Buffett was still searching for that elephant in his final months as Berkshire CEO https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/13/warren-buffett-still-searching-for-big-elephant-deal-in-his-final-time-as-berkshire-ceo.html?&qsearchterm=buffett Cheers!

It is an internal war. It is the war against ignorance. And Trump clearly lost him.

German president says US is destroying world order German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has strongly criticised the U.S. foreign policy under President Donald Trump and urged the world not to let the world order disintegrate into a "den of robbers" where the unscrupulous take what they want. In unusually strong remarks, which appeared to refer to actions such as the ousting of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro at the weekend, the former foreign minister said global democracy was being attacked as never before. Although the German president's role is largely ceremonial, his words carry some weight and he has more freedom to express views than politicians. Describing Russia's annexation of Crimea and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine as a watershed, Steinmeier said the U.S. behaviour represented a second historic rupture. "Then there is the breakdown of values by our most important partner, the USA, which helped build this world order," Steinmeier said in remarks at a symposium late on Wednesday. "It is about preventing the world from turning into a den of robbers, where the most unscrupulous take whatever they want, where regions or entire countries are treated as the property of a few great powers," he said. Active intervention was needed in threatening situations and countries such as Brazil and India must be convinced to protect the world order, he said. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/german-president-says-us-is-destroying-world-order-2026-01-08/

Buffett says Berkshire has the best odds of any company for lasting 100 more years as he hands over reins. https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/02/warren-buffett-retirement-final-interview-berkshire-has-the-best-odds-of-lasting-a-century.html “It has a better chance I think of being here 100 years from now than any company I can think of,” Buffett told Becky Quick in a special interview, parts of which aired on CNBC Friday.... The 95-year-old investor also signaled a quieter public role going forward, saying he will not take the stage at Berkshire’s annual shareholder meeting this year, a notable shift from a tradition that has drawn tens of thousands of investors to Omaha for decades. “Everything will be the same,” Buffett said. “I will come in. I won’t be up there speaking at the annual meeting, but I’ll be in the directors’ section.”

You are right.

I know that area, we have an apartment in Antalya, my wife bought it when she had an fruit import/export business in Ukraine and had to travel to Turkey often. We usually don‘t go there in Winter though as the weather is somewhat unstable and often raining. 25 years ago my brother moved from Germany to Thailand. Now he lives a little bit above Phuket, is married with a Thai woman and owns some land near the sea. He is architect and built his own house on the land. He has a very relaxing life in Thailand. He owns some Berkshire shares and is probably very good at doing nothing. Perhaps I should do the same.

Weather in Germany really sucked, so we escaped to Side, Turkey. Great weather, mediterranen food at the mediterranen sea and red wine. It´s a children hotel, so our children love it. Nothing is better, than a little bit sun in the winter.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Buffett once made a mathematical example like this. So the essence is that low probability events become to certainties over time. And this goes for everything, not only reinsurance companies. So beware of low quality in everything, because over time it can/will kill you.... It is no surprise that Munger insisted on high quality companies

For a while there, some of the stuff he was doing made sense to the GOP. But after a while, the drunk, crazy bitch always shows up and shows his true colors. I think they are slowly getting tired of this "alcoholic" personality! I think Susie Wiles nailed it on the head! Cheers! Trump defends Susie Wiles, agrees he has an 'alcoholic's personality' https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/12/16/trump-susie-wiles-vanity-fair-alcoholics-personality/87797812007/ After a while nobody wants to be around an "alcoholic" personality anymore.

Gemini forgot another important reason: The people in the nordic countries are much richer than the people in the southern countries. An electric vehicle is approximately double the price of a normal car. I bought a great used car for 15.000 Euro. The EV would have cost above 40.000 Euro.

I like an old Buffett quote from Outstanding Investor Digest: "We don't get paid for activity, just for being right. As to how long we'll wait, we'll wait indefinitely." When everybody here comes up with great ideas for Berkshires cash, that is like telling Michael Jordan how to throw the basketball.

Sounds like a great book! I bought it. I suffered the last two months from lower back pain and it was terrible. What finally worked was a fascia ball (like a tennis ball, only harder) that I pressed for 30 seconds in every place that did hurt.

Bought some Fairfax shares.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jpmorgan-ceo-jamie-dimon-says-204902614.html “If they fragment, then you can say that America first will not be around anymore,” Dimon said. “It will hurt us more than anybody else because they are a major ally in every single way, including common values, which are really important.” He said the US should help. “We need a long-term strategy to help them become strong,” Dimon said. “A weak Europe is bad for us.” We are awaiting your help, not tariffs theft. Trump is kicking other countries in recessions with the tariffs and then lecturing them what is wrong with them!!!

I think what Europe really need is more innovativeness like in California. Easier said than done....

Interesting article from Barron´s about U.S. health care: The Most Important Industry Isn’t AI. It’s Healthcare. https://www.barrons.com/articles/healthcare-employment-important-for-economy-aca-subsidies-5d307f93?mod=past_editions "Three major healthcare supports are at risk. The enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, expanded under the American Rescue Plan, are scheduled to expire at the end of the year. If they lapse, premiums for millions could jump by hundreds of dollars a month. Millions could lose coverage entirely. Rising uninsured rates increase uncompensated-care burdens for hospitals, strain budgets, slow hiring, and weaken regional growth. In addition, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program enrollment has already fallen sharply as states unwind Covid-19-era continuous-coverage rules. From March 2023 to July 2025, more than 17 million people lost coverage. Hospitals can’t absorb that level of uncompensated care without cutting services or closing outright. More than 700 rural hospitals are currently at risk of closing. And when a hospital closes, a regional economy loses one of its few recession-proof anchors. Finally, the healthcare workforce, already strained by shortages of nurses, medical assistants, mental health counselors, and clinical lab workers, faces an uncertain federal funding landscape. President Donald Trump’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget includes over $400 million in cuts to workforce programs that expand the supply of nurses, physicians, behavioral health specialists, and other healthcare workers. Without stable investments in training and education, health systems can’t staff new units, expand services, or meet rising demand. A recession-proof sector becomes recession sensitive. If policymakers allow Medicaid funding to erode, ACA subsidies to expire, and the health workforce pipeline to thin, they will weaken the very sector that has kept the economy stable through every crisis of the 21st century. No amount of AI-driven equity exuberance will be enough to keep the real economy from feeling the shock." Sounds like Trump is making U.S. healthcare great again. Davita shares are down about 40%

I mean as a customer. These companies make life much easier, save time and money and answer questions.

I don´t think so. People are hugely profiting from Amazon, Apple, Alphabt and AI.

One of the disadvantages of the German industry is that it always has been very capital-intensive and not the asset-light model that can work so magically.

Profitability is lower in Europe, Circle of Competence, companies are not run in the favour of shareholders, legal problems, employee has more rights, low quality banks in Europe, Berkshire not so much known as in the US.... Buffett made a road trip in Europe. Look at a list of the most profitable companies of the world. Then you have the reason.