LC

Happy birthday America and Sanjeev!

Nah, just buy IFF. they probably supply the orange juice flavor.

Well, all those people wanting to cut back on the 2nd Amendment rights & gun control probably have not had the experience of a home invasion, thefts of vehicles, etc. They probably also have not had to deal with AGGRESSIVELY incompetent police too! I wonder what the response of gun control people would be if they knew the police won't do anything? When they learn they aren't even INTERESTED in doing anything! I guess in their fantasy "la-la land" people don't have the right to protect themselves & their property when society & police start falling apart. I just hope things don't get worse. I & my father lived in Detroit in the 70's & 80's. I've seen REALLY bad times, I hope they don't come back... The USA is a diverse place. Here is NYC...it is as safe and well policed as I've seen it in the last 30 years. Pretty incredible how far it's come from the 70s. In my opinion guns would cause more harm than good here. In Spokane Washington? I have the total opposite view.

Ah, dammit. Somebody go audit the Fed already.

Wouldn't allowing them to return capital facilitate this? Otherwise, the capital just accumulates and the banks find reasons to lend it out, expanding their balance sheet even more.

Why wouldn't the Fed allow them to return more capital? This isn't like Fannie/Freddie where the gov't has a direct, financial incentive to keep milking those entities.

Freaking eh!

Remember, friends always share 8)

FCAU, WPP, BAC

Holy crap are you serious? How is the government not involved? This is ridiculous that people can just casually get their hands on this stuff. You don't need to be a chemist to understand the dangers involved. This is literally proof that our government is simply incapable of providing real solutions to basic, common problems. I swear to god this makes me want to vote Trump even more.

Two windmills are standing in a field and one asks the other, "What kind of music do you like?" The other replies, "I'm a big metal fan"

This is why PE alone is not an indicator of over- or under- valued. in this case, buying @ 20x would've been a great investment. i am sick of hearing, it trades at 20x earnings therefore its overvalued.

I'm all for uncovering the shadier side of Berkshire, but can anyone explain the following to me: Did they have a gun to this business's head? Why just, you know, not buy the shitty policy?

Hold it till it goes to 0 (no commisions needed) or the stock price increases to a point where the commission is a small % of the final sale!

welcome to the world of boring garpy stuff, geo :D i am also looking at disney

i own shares but also left room to average down. on the flip side of oreo...they have historical attributes that no other brand can replicate, in terms of past and current sponsorships. i bought a nike gym bag vs. a cheaper adidas or other brand because...well, adidas bags just kind of look tacky compared to the nike swoosh. the challenges oreo mentions regarding competitors and supply chain has always existed in one sense or another over the last 30 years. nike has a superior brand which allows them to command a premium, and i don't think this will change because amazon sells their own sneakers. also, just for the funny factor, here's some feedback from Nike's main rival (underarmor)'s new steph curry shoe: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/the-internet-s-roast-of-stephen-curry-s-new-shoes-is-relentless-145549601.html

Just an incredible athlete and human. Not to say he was perfect but admirable in many aspects. What a competitor, and entertainer! A rare breed that could do both!

Hasn't anyone seen Zorba the Greek?

I agree. What do the nay sayers always say.? "But Apple isn't innovative, Apple didn't invent the X!" Where X = {MP3 Player, Smartphone, Tablet, Smartwatch,...}. What they don't realize is that this is an advantage not a disadvantage. It means that Apple doesn't have to invent a completely new thing out of thin air which has never existed before in the history of the world, it just has to Apple-fy (I like that word) something that is currently being done poorly. So the Apple Car may be coming, get ready for "Apple didn't invent the electric autonomous car!". Man, this is the argument I made like...50 pages back in this thread! That said, I don't have insight into the iphone sales cycle. So I'm thinking of apple 3 ways: 1. iphone sales continue to growgrowgrow and the stock price reflects this, and i miss out on a great investment 2. iphone sales drop and the market thinks the company is a one-trick pony which just sprained all four of its ankles and needs to be put down, so i can buy at a cheap price relative to all the future "apple-fy" products to come in the future. 3. something else happens, leaving me clueless and uninvested (par for the course).

The problem is a lot of people don't have to discipline to, say, eat 2000 calories of cake and cola and then call it quits for the day. Those foods are usually low-fiber, low-satiety, addictive (taste wise), and provide an insulin spike followed by a crash...these factors strongly encourage over-consumption.

Thanks for the heads up. Where do you get market prices for these sorts of things? I have a few comics and tons of basketball cards I would love to turn into capital :)

Brings up a good point: the quality of journalism is on a constant decline. I spoke with an ex-Sequioa analyst about 8 months ago. He said, "do you know who sequoia hires (as analysts)? journalists." And i'm sure it's not just them. So with some exceptions perhaps, the brightest guys in that market are getting snatched up by funds, and the public readership is left with the rest.

Thanks for your thoughts HJ very insightful...I agree especially in terms of disintermediation. Gone are the days of billing fees at every step of the financing process between 5-10 parties, unless regulations change and I think that will be difficult

Hey Scott, anything new going on in your life? Post some of whats been going thru your head recently. :)

Well, they go hand in hand, righ? It's easy to lever up because rates are low. And valuations are stretched because rates are low. When rates are high, it is harder to lever up, but valuations will be cheaper. So really you want to look at the spread, right? Use leverage when the spread is high and delever when the spread comes down.