LC

Haven't seen a transcript but there's info here: http://www.fcagroup.com/en-us/investor_relations/events_presentations/quarterly_results/pages/2015_q1.aspx

ENTP here, apparently. I used to score INTP/J when I was younger, oddly.

2. The guys selling non-carb product are very small players, the big flooring guys have agreed to adhere to carb nationwide.

Roark, 1. Tilson claims this began in late 2011 when LL acquired a Chinese co called Sequoia and also when new management came in during that time. He cites their 2012 AR which attributed decreasing product costs to this acquisition. Op margins grew almost solely due to gross margin expansion, which began in 2012. He also cites an EIA report which accuses LL of buying from Chinese mills, who were in turn buying illegal hardwood from Russia.

I'll be going to a presentation by Whitney Tilson tomorrow around noon, if anyone has question they would like me to pose to him please post them here and I will do my best to relay them.

Counterpoints to NBL's above post: 1. Why do the intentions of a poster matter? Whatever reasons a person had to post has nothing to do with the underlying argument. Not sure why NBL continuously brings this up. 2. Yes understanding the value here is the main goal. This should be obvious on a value investor forum. Value is affected by Biglari's character and performance, which had been rehashed multiple times. What I will say is the length of response is not a valid measure of the accuracy of valuation. Someone said something about explaining the merits of an investment in terms a fifth grader could understand. 3. As to book value, I think it has it's merits as an approximation of true value. Biglari does use it to home in on his compensation, so BV analysis is therefore worth discussion.

Not to mention chalk and a blackboard is a sensory experience. The sound, sight, scent...proper stimulation of the senses has been shown to aid understanding and memory.

Who is making Shareholder B sell? Is there a gun to their head? I have no idea, all I know is Biglari gave them the option. Many very early Berkshire shareholders (meaning 1960s era) sold at $20 per share or so. Those were also shareholders who did not get a great deal. Are you referring to when Buffett ran down his partnership? IIRC he wrote many letters advising them, even against his better judgement. He also gave them various options about how to structure the distribution. He practically bent over backwards for them.

Of course all this "value" is being created by fleecing shareholder B to aid shareholder A. In your example shareholder B spent $750 and is being bought out at $625. Sounds like he got a great deal. Apparently in the land of Mr. Big, value is only created for some shareholders. I guess you have to ask yourself which shareholder are you?

Rational thinking should overwhelm sense organs' I disagree in some contexts. Sensory perception and body language overwhelm rational thought in most communication. Imagine approaching a woman at a bar. Rational discourse is probably the least important aspect. And yet the goal is forming a relationship which can create life (or at least practice :D)

Are we still on for tomorrow? Paulauner brauhaus on bowery street...any idea on time?

In terms of psychologically distancing myself from the bias of cloning a PM's idea, I put in enough work to make it "feel" like it is now "my" idea.

careful of environmental issues. fly ash is the biggest problem and when i looked at monarch, the regulatory pressure certainly existed. kind of a utility, though. not much sense in setting up multiple cement plants for a given geography. oh also, perhaps send a PM to user 'Aberhound', he has a good knowledge of the industry IMHO.

what about red meats, dairy, protein in general? i ask because i think "most" people are usually trying to lose weight. i'm in the opposite camp. 155 lbs, 6 feet tall of pure skinny. so recently i've started lifting heavy weights (starting strength/stronglifts) and my diet is as such: breakfast: the ron swanson 3 slices bacon 3 fried eggs 1 cup milk 1 cup coffee lunch: the steak salad 1 serving steak, cut into pieces 1 cup steamed broccoli 1 cup leafy greens 1 handful walnuts 1 avocado doused in olive oil + vinegar dinner: we subscribe to blue apron (https://www.blueapron.com/) which is really awesome. healthy, delicious, perfect serving sizes for 2, and it teaches you new cooking techniques. very cool. during the day i snack on nuts, berries, and drink milk. i definitely feel healthier and stronger, and have more energy. i was never "fat" so putting on weight is a new feeling to me.

I'll see you there!

We had a meetup in late jan organized thru this site with a good turnout, keep your eyes peeled to the "events" sub forum.

Peter May of trian partners is coming to my class to give a speech, if anyone would like to pose any questions I will try to relay them. There wasn't a DuPont thread and I didn't want to create one just for this, so I figure this is a good spot to do it!

I posted a week or so ago I thought the UBS analyst was obtuse. I gotta love that guy for letting me buy common and options around 15.80. Same about a month? ago when shares traded in the low 15s. Mr market Ty sir/

T1 under the severe scenario 7.1% vs 5.9% last year. JPM 6.5%, WFC 7.5%, C 8.2% Good improvements IMHO, their expected loan loss rates were below the median in almost all categories. I hope they asked for $10B in buybacks.

Rrrright.... So not counting 2009, which Buffett's recent purchases have been "obvious"? Or perhaps you can tell which of your recent purchases have been "obvious"? :) Obvious to him doesn't mean obvious to everyone. Otherwise, there wouldn't be much opportunity to take advantage ;) Obviously! (sorry) Apple sub-400 was pretty obvious IMHO.

The problem trying to value things 5+ years out is that the discussion quickly turns qualitative, not quantitative. Quantitative problems are easy to frame, discuss, and "solve". Not so with qualitative ones. It requires good judgement, an open mind, and of course humility/margin of safety. To relate this to Apple...my reasoning was, "here we have the best electronic design company in the world selling for 10x earnings ex-cash. will consumer electronics grow? yes. will design be a huge factor? yes." No matter what the product happens to be, Apple will make a well-designed version, work it into their brand and ecosystem, charge a premium price, and it will gain a following. The company has tremendous option value in that regard. In the meantime, they mint money with their iphones etc.

Can I amend my post?? I agree with HJ :D He is right: in certain spaces, debt is necessary. Here in NYC you can't hope to make an adequate return on RE without leverage. I've used leverage in my portfolio before but for me it puts me on edge too much, psychologically, and in retrospect I don't think it was worth the stress.

If it is Volkswagen, perhaps the Ferrari spinoff is so the Agnelli family can retain their crown jewel.

leverage: if you know what you're doing, you don't need it. if you don't know what you're doing, you definitely don't need it.

Scared me, I thought you were buying Lumber Liquidators. I would be scared to be short. one of the smartest stock pickers in the world just bought a big position. I saw that, and everyone's favorite whipping boy Tilson has made a very loud short case. I don't have a position, but if I had to initiate one here it'd be short. Gross margins at all time highs, bulk of the remodeling done by the Blackstone's of the world to build the world's largest rental pool, and the business still only generates $40 MM in FCF (less than 2% FCF yield). I just don't see how you get significantly much more upside in the stock. Sorry for digging this comment chain up from the grave, but 60 Minutes apparently did a piece on Lumber Liquidators confirming they have been selling flooring with levels of formaldehyde above legal limits: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/lumber-liquidators-linked-to-health-and-safety-violations/ I actually looked into the company but passed for this reason (although it was only a rumor at the time - but my carpenter neighbor confirmed LL sold the cheapest "wood" he had ever seen).