LC

I completely agree. Does that mean it shouldn't be done? Or that therefore the victims are not owed any justice? Seems absurd. I did some more digging, here is the issue: The government has calculated that Citgo pulled in $1 billion over the decade it operated its refinery illegally. If U.S. District Court Judge John D. Rainey were to empanel a jury to consider such “pecuniary gain,” Citgo could theoretically pay up to $2 billion in penalties. Rainey has so far declined to establish a jury, ruling that it would prolong the sentencing process. (An irony that isn’t lost on some. “That’s too funny,” said Suzie Canales, an environmental justice activist in Corpus. “People have died waiting for the judge.”) Without a sentencing jury, the judge can levy a maximum fine of only $2 million—a paltry sum compared to the billion the company earned during its criminal activity. And that is exactly what happened: a sentencing jury was not established, the excuse being it would "take too long", and therefore Citgo pays a 0.2% cost-of-doing-business expense. 0.2%!!!

Lowe's (LOW) - homebuilding/renovation NVR (NVR) - homebuilding/mortgages The Hackett Group (HCKT)-business analytics Select Comfort (SCSS)-mattresses Willis Lease Finance (WLFC)-airplane engine leasing Seems to me 3/5 are related to housing. Of the 5, Hackett group looks most interesting from a business perspective.

I'm all for civil rights for corporations. I'd just like them to be enforced: Classy. No civil punishment, no criminal punishment. This is the problem - corporations are used as barriers to prevent any real consequence to the individuals that commit crimes. And on this point: Sometimes this is how it works out. Other times these factions collude and monopolize - lobbying to remove regulations, or just flat out ignoring regulations.

Oh man. I really enjoyed his works and philosophy. I even interviewed to join 3rd Ave way back when. RIP

I think it should be all or nothing. Fine with "corporations" having civil rights, but when was the last time a corporation was tried for murder or manslaughter etc.?

From my accounting days and I may be mistaken, but I believe some assets when they are determined to be impaired, that charge flows through AOCI. https://www.accountingtools.com/articles/the-other-than-temporary-impairment-concept.html However I am not sure why BAC is saying not to be concerned about this $4b charge. If the assets are indeed impaired, what does holding them to maturity matter? Their market price has just decreased.

WW1 was also pretty devastating. I believe that is where the term shellshock originated. The stigma associated with those suffering was also atrocious.

That's pretty anecdotal. I don't think the majority of kids who "hate school" would be making 3x the median income if they just weren't burdened by geometry class.

Sanjeev, I'm curious, how do you think about your situation in regards to your investors at your fund? They don't own PDH directly, and PDH only makes up 15% of their holdings with you. However you are (or were) essentially spending 100% of your time working on PDH. So my question is, the incentive fee you charge is for 100% of your fund asset's performance, but your time is only being spent on 15% of the fund's assets. Now I'm sure given your reputation that your investors didn't even bat an eyelash at the situation, but from the outside looking in, do you think one could raise this argument?

I think the governance issue is well covered thus far. I agree with Spekulatius. I don't think the underlying businesses are that exciting. But there are many ways to skin a cat, and I hope everyone here makes a lot of $$ :)

Bingo Yea but there were issues with that methodology. But I think in general, the spirit of the conclusion is correct: don't ignore posts because they're not generating a big discussion, and evaluate all ideas on their merits, not number of comments.

Well my schedule is opposite yours (I dive right into work and then exercise later), but I enjoy reading after dinner.

Every time I hear this argument I wonder, where do you draw the line? Curious to hear your thoughts.

I usually don't like reproduction value. Like let's say a business makes wallpaper (stealing the example above). Maybe they have 5 factories and ship out from there. So are they worth five factories? Well maybe if you're an entrepreneur and ur going into the wallpaper business maybe you only need 2 factories. What i do like is "put-out-of-business" value. What would it cost for a competitor to put you out of business. I think that's a pretty good idea to have as you triangulate value. It kind of defines the width of the "moat". Oh and maybe that cost isn't to build a competing similar product, maybe it is the cost to develop a new product which makes yours obsolete.

Are you referring to level 2 cash on the balance sheet? If so this might help http://shareholdersunite.com/mybb/showthread.php?tid=4969

Concentrate in compounders Diversify in the dump ;D

Ten years though? Imagine a surgeon with ten years of malpractice claims, a cashier with ten years of stealing from the till, a lawyer with ten years of lost case after lost case. Hell, the lawyer example may even be spot on: Imagine those ambulance chasing/daytime TV commercial lawyers who don't charge unless YOU GET PAID! Even if they settle for far less than your claim is worth, they still get paid, exactly like an underperforming fund manager!

Also insurers have inflation on their side. New business is coming in at higher prices than old policies (and claim against) were written.

Agreed. The worst part is, if you're a fund manager, and you underperform for 10 years, how do you sleep at night collecting fees? Now I know this isn't all managers (the reasonable ones have high water marks etc to prevent this kind of thing), but for the ones that sit back and just rake in fees for the service of losing their clients money, that person I particularly despise.

Honestly, this is crazy to me. TEN YEARS???? That's a long time to lose money. Imagine if Buffett underperformed for ten years. No offense to Mr. Chou, whom I've never met but apparently is a great human being, but that is simply too long to keep me as a client. If I invested my money in others, I would give them: -3 years if they are new -5 years if they have a "rock solid" history Otherwise I am out. You're essentially telling me that in 5+ years this person was not able to find a means to make money. I am perfectly capable of under-performing all by myself, thank you very much! :D Frankly, if I were managing other people's money, and I couldn't outperform over a 5 year period, I would consider it theft to keep their money under management.

Perhaps when "madness of the crowd" goes right?

Hahaha ;D

Interesting thing we found was that this is very cultural; folks from the former 'east block' and the various 'asia's' all play the game very differently. The hardest part was always trying to find someone who played the same way you do - but better than you. There's never a Gretzky around when you want one! SD Once I started kicking my old man's butt I would play with a buddy from school - Chinese kid (I'm Italian) - we played completely differently. Went about 50/50 because for the few months that we occasionally played, we couldn't figure out what the hell the other guy was doing. 15 years later we do essentially the same thing for a living. Life is weird but chess may be weirder. ;D

Anyone think that everyone and their mother is trying to buy multi-family units to leverage the upkeep and such? I would think this would create some room in the single family units for a smart operator who can standardize the types of repairs/maintenance that push people away from these units. Would be interested to hear your thoughts as I feel you guys are closer to this market than I am (as a lowly homeowner).

If these are all of Buffett's partnership letters, then I have. IMO it was probably the best financial reading I've ever done. Did it on the subway going to/from work, about 30 min each way, took me maybe a month? Second is perhaps Klarman's book. Also I would note that Buffett's letters were one of the last things I've read from the "value canon". I think that was beneficial - I had a financial education, I had some years of investing experience, I had seen how a "value" philosophy plays out over a cycle. In other words, I was in a place where I understood the reasoning behind Buffett's words. It was actually one of the best play-by-play renditions of 10 or so years of value investing. Highly highly highly recommended.