Berkshire 2018 Annual Meeting

[Graham Osborn]

Thread for events around the meeting.  Look forward to seeing folks there!

[EricSchleien]

Likewise!

[LongTermView]

Yes, it will be great to see everyone.  8)

[ValueMaven]

If you want to carpool from NYC and try and keep expenses VERY, VERY low, PM me...I will be driving out...

 

Sincerely,

ValueMaven

[Graham Osborn]

If you want to carpool from NYC and try and keep expenses VERY, VERY low, PM me...I will be driving out...

 

Sincerely,

ValueMaven

 

That's the spirit!  Here in Atlanta direct flights on Delta are not too bad.  But given all the New Yorkers going to the meeting you might be able to rent a bus - and call it the "BerBus."

[Seanzy]

Guys I would like to go to the meeting for my first time, although I've researched Buffett for eleven years. I am trying to get there from the San Francisco Bay Area and find lodging as cheaply as possible. Any advice? Thank you!

[EricSchleien]

Guys I would like to go to the meeting for my first time, although I've researched Buffett for eleven years. I am trying to get there from the San Francisco Bay Area and find lodging as cheaply as possible. Any advice? Thank you!

 

AirBnB

[voyager]

If anyone is still looking for a place to stay, I can offer an extra non-refundable room we booked for a negotiable price.

 

It's this one: Homewood Suites by Hilton, Omaha Downtown, 1314 Cuming Street, Omaha, NE 68102

[Guest longinvestor]

I too can accommodate 1 person in an apartment rental which is walking distance from the market and CenturyLink venue. Available Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. We’re five and it’s a six bed unit. PM me.

[Graham Osborn]

We’re making this the “AirBnb of Omaha” thread :)

 

Hope you all had a good flight in!

[slkiel]

We'd love to see those in Omaha at our investor day event immediately after the Saturday meeting. Arquitos Capital, Alluvial Fund, Ironwood Fund, and Bonhoeffer Fund will be presenting. Feel free to stop by, even if just for a few minutes. Additional details below:

 

May 5, 2018, 4pm-6pm local time

Hilton Hotel, Murray Conference Room (second floor)— 1001 Cass St., Omaha, NE 68102

 

https://medium.com/@WOAM/investor-day-presentation-may-5-2018-28b71e38ca3a

[Ballinvarosig Investors]

Here's a preview - https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/04/buffett-interview-.html

 

Interesting comments for me were..

 

The economy is growing slightly faster than in previous years.

Charlie and Warren have only met once in the last 2 years.

Warren seems to like Apple a lot.

Warren also seems to think that USG should look at a "strategic alternative" - in other words, he does not like the business in the long-term, he would be happy to be bought out.

[Graham Osborn]

Sitting up in the nosebleed section waiting for the movie.  Happy posting everyone!

[wolverine890]

Up in the nosebleeds, too. What time do you floor people arrive?

[Graham Osborn]

When you think about it, Berkshire is now buying the only higher-earning nonfinancial company than itself.  There isn’t much left to buy in the public markets - regardless of what the market does - that can really make a dent.  I guess they could buy some Aramco.  They might by some Google sooner or later.  But for really big companies, public or private, the number of candidates looks pretty slim.

[Graham Osborn]

Up in the nosebleeds, too. What time do you floor people arrive?

 

Apparently Berkers are now paying Omahans to camp out overnight to save their spots.  That’s crazy - I don’t care how rich he is.  And there is a kid next to me holding a giant poster of Charlie Munger’s head.

[Gamecock-YT]

this girl doing interviews on the yahoo broadcast is really bad at it.

[Graham Osborn]

Dynamic duo coming out..

[Jurgis]

OK, let's get elephant into the room: Buffett looks tired.  :-\

[Jurgis]

"Everybody knew that America will win the war" - talk about a backwards looking fallacy...

 

I'm superglad they did. But was it guaranteed? What were the real American win predictions in 1942?

 

Edit: Let's invert. "Everybody knew that Germany will win the war" in 1942. What would an investment into German stock be worth now?  ::)

[Jurgis]

Not a bad PCP question. :)

[LounginMKL]

OK, let's get elephant into the room: Buffett looks tired.  :-\

 

Looks like he woke up a bit as time progresses. He must've been tired from buying all these AAPL stocks.

[Jurgis]

Not a bad PCP question. :)

 

So far IMO Jonathan Brandt is asking the best questions.

[Graham Osborn]

"Everybody knew that America will win the war" - talk about a backwards looking fallacy...

 

I'm superglad they did. But was it guaranteed? What were the real American win predictions in 1942?

 

Edit: Let's invert. "Everybody knew that Germany will win the war" in 1942. What would an investment into German stock be worth now?  ::)

 

I have to agree with you on that.  If Hitler hadn’t ejected Jewish quantum physicists, they might have built the fission bomb for the Third Reich - and I think we all know what Hitler would have done to each and every Allied nation that did not “surrender unconditionally” once he was so equipped.  Every nation that is born must die, and investors must consider that in their personal calculations.  I for one know that my calculations do not align 100% with Uncle Sam’s.  But I think if I’d been there I would have bet on the US too - who wants to bet in a nation that nationalizes industry.  And if you’re wrong, you’re screwed anyway.

 

That said, i am looking for ways to bet on Asia-Pacifc once the securities regulations firm up.  300 years ago it was said that “the sun never sets in the British Empire.” Now, Britain is little more than a flyspeck on the economic landscape.  WW2 devastated the UK economically and paved the way for the US to steal market share.

[Graham Osborn]

I think it’s interesting that both Buffett and Munger don’t seem repelled by the structural/ regulatory risk of Chinese securities.  Then again, I guess BYD hasn’t had a lot of sequels this far.