LC

If I am understanding this correctly, you're saying the IV of the OTM calls has more upside than ATM/ITM calls of the same date/strike? How far OTM did you go if the strike is only 1 month out? Or are you planning on continuously rolling contracts over on a monthly basis as long as nothing systematic happens in the market? If not, why not just purchase 2015 LEAP OTM calls?

DVA is also a hedge for BRK's large KO exposure.

This was my thinking as well. I thought about looking into their competitors, but would rather buy a company that is listed on the NASDAQ and is subjected to SEC rules. Their headquarters are in Singapore though. It makes sense that most of their revenue comes from the Asia region, since a lot of semiconductor manufacturing happens there. I sent an email to KLIC investor relations asking about the insider selling, not sure what kind of response I'll get though. What other sort of red flags should be looked for if you're trying to prove or disprove a fraud company? Accounting changes/oddities, any lawsuits they may be involved in, past history of management & major shareholders.

As the recent article regarding Klarman showed, purchasing Madoff claims was very profitable :)

http://www.reddit.com/r/EntrepreneurRideAlong/ This subreddit is a "ride along" with a entrepreneur who started a maid business in DC metro area. Turns out he copied the idea (the idea being a maid service optimized to sell/function on the web) from another guy, but his experience is very valuable to learn from.

exactly. which is why I don't understand your elevation of investment authority figures at the same time diminishing independent thinking investors who may disagree. Ben Graham says the facts will out. cheers! Ben Graham also said if a stock hasn't worked out in three years, sell it: it is probably a value trap. Not that anything in investing (or life) is set in stone, I am just playing devil's advocate.

I interpreted that exchange differently: MONTAGNE: There is talk, now, of Chrysler going public, selling shares so that you might say any American can invest in Chrysler's success. Is that something you would look forward to? MARCHIONNE: What I really would like to do is to give an opportunity to America investors to buy shares in the combined Fiat/Chrysler. How that happens, I don't know, so give me some time. I need to figure it out. I thought he was implying that he doesn't want the IPO to go forward and, instead, wants Fiat to wholly own Chrysler and trade on the American exchanges. I share your perspective. That said, Fiat got a great deal in Chrysler. He obviously doesn't want to dilute or sell Fiat's stake, and how can I blame him?

Bronte's take: http://brontecapital.blogspot.ca/2013/01/notes-on-visiting-herbalife-nutrition.html I don't have a horse in this race, but Einhorn's book was a lesson on how perilous short-selling can be. The truth may take years to come to light (if it ever does) and you will be creating a public and polarizing situation which can become more about the personalities involved than the facts of the situation. And the more public the position becomes, the greater the lengths the target company will go to in order to survive.

Parsad, may I ask what strategy you used to lever up your exposure?

Didn't Buffett say the preferred time to sell is never?

I prefer their '06 cabernet. Sorry, couldn't help myself! But I believe the calculation is: Take year 2 revenue. This comprises Year 1 revenue + New Revenue - Lost customers. I believe management provides new revenue, therefore you can derive the amount of revenue attributed to the lost customers and therefore the percentage of non-recurring customers. Do this over the course of the data to get a general sense of retention rates.

Just a quick reply: I'm not sure about usage in third world countries but a report was done on how female condoms saved millions when used in Washington DC. I wish I remembered the specifics, if you'd like I can dig up the report. Quote: "The study showed that the Washington, D.C. FC2 prevention program, a public-private partnership to provide and promote FC2 female condoms, prevented enough HIV infections in the first year alone to save over $8 million in avoided future medical care costs (over and above the cost of approximately $445,000 for the program)" NGOs are handing them out, but FHCO also sells to distributors as well. I will say at the London Summit (in summer 2012 I believe) the Bill/Melinda Gates Foundation and other NGOs/Non-profits committed to ~$4.5 bln of support for women's contraceptives during 2012-2020. A seeking alpha write up is here: http://seekingalpha.com/article/1094051-the-female-health-company-play-and-keep-it-safe Additionally, FHCO had an excellent quarter and year ending 9/30/12. Financials available here: http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/viewer?action=view&cik=863894&accession_number=0001171843-12-004364&xbrl_type=v# Personally I re-initiated my position with a cost basis of $7.27/sh

Can anyone point towards a primer on the history of CLOs you guys are referring to? I don't know much about this market but it sounds...entertaining :)

The trade is very asymmetric, skewed to the upside when the stock is close to or at the repurchase limit. Time decay makes especially short term options more risky the higher above that threshold the stock is. Leaps, particularly deep ITM Leaps, are relatively less risky than other calls, especially when the stock is significantly above the repurchase limit. I too like Leaps for this trade: however why deep ITM? I would think the time horizon of the Leaps are adequate for managing the risk that the stock takes longer to rebound. I would think ATM or slightly OTM Leaps would provide more leverage on the upside while the one-two year time provides a cushion to protect the downside. They are more prone to systematic risk I suppose. What are your thoughts?

I missed my opportunity to make this trade when BRK.B was trading in the 80s and settled for buying the common instead. I surely hope another chance arises!

Whether I am looking to invest in a "quality" business, or I am examining a company which claims to compete in the marketplace on quality, I came across this as a checklist to define what exactly I mean by quality. http://lssacademy.com/2008/05/28/8-dimensions-of-quality/ Edit: I should say, it's nothing really groundbreaking but it does provide a precise breakdown of the factors which make up "quality".

Excellent arguments gio. I am enjoying your posts more and more as I read them.

I like Mark Cuban: not that I think he is brilliant, or that I agree with what he says, but I appreciate his conviction in his perspective and his outsider-looking-in sense of honesty and candor: http://blogmaverick.com/2013/01/10/the-stock-market-2/

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss...

My understanding is that many times a shipper will have excess capacity come available last minute (as a buyer pulls out) and has a lot of trouble selling it. Maximizing utilization is a big problem in the industry. Regarding EETCs I was not familiar until you brought it up, from the wiki article it seems relatively straightforward but I have no firsthand experience with them. This looks like a good resource which details their use regarding aircraft lease financing, however I would assume the same holds true for freight ships: https://www.tcw.com/News_and_Commentary/Market_Commentary/Insights/~/media/Downloads/Commentary/Fixed%20Income%20Research/Fixed%20Income%20Commentary/Other/030810_DFIrsch76_UpInTheAir.ashx

The best part of being names Louis is getting to participate in this line with friends :)

Thanks for your perspective: the reason I ask is a relative of mine who has been an industry exec. for many years is helping roll out an electronic platform. His views are similar to yours. Namely that buyers/sellers are very "stuck in their ways", however electronic platforms offer much in terms of ease-of-use and efficiently managing various shipments. I'd be interested to know the name of the program you mention...I would not be surprised if it is the same one :) Thanks again and welcome to the board!

Damn! I never got around to doing my research on CLWR for my account, but congrats to you and those who did!

Thanks for that link (quantumonline.com). That looks like an excellent resource to delve into senior securities.

I'm just glad there is some sporadic Italian being spoken on this board :)