Parsad

Always some words of wisdom in any of his interviews. Thanks very much for posting. Cheers!

the hardware is very mid range that will be priced very high. the screen is small compared to what people are buying now at 4.2. Next Galaxy will be 5in, the next note will be 6+. The processor is dual core, which is what you find in $250 typical mid range android phones these days. Retina displays are pretty standard... That sounds remarkably like the iPhone 5, except the screen is only 4 inches on the iPhone! ;D Cheers!

When did Byrne stalk Antar and his wife? Antar has written one non-descript article after another on Overstock.com, along with Fairfax and Francis because they were shareholders. Antar's cronies Gary Weiss and Tracey Conen also wrote one article after another on Overstock. They especially were active each time the stock was heavily shorted, but their articles disappeared every time the shorts lost on a bet. Antar, along with Tilson at one point, funded Barry Minkow's "Fraud Discovery Institute"...but now that Minkow is serving time again, Antar has somewhat disavowed himself from Minkow. A known felon funding another known felon until he went to jail again. What credence does Antar's articles deserve? It's like Lance Armstrong writing about ethical and honest management! Cheers!

I would prefer he hire a bodyguard. And if he is going to carry a gun to protect himself, then be smart enough to know where it is all the time. This guy is very smart...how could he be so reckless as to just leave it another bag? Cheers!

LOL! Nice catch James. Cheers!

Article on Dell's MSD Capital and investments outside of Dell. Maybe they should have taken profits from Dell and gone into the money management business, because that would have grown shareholder value a hell of a lot more! Cheers! http://www.cnbc.com/id/100389983

CNBC interview with Kyle Bass. Short but good. I agree with him about Japan, but I'm not sure he can really put a time frame on this thing. Cheers! http://www.cnbc.com/id/100391704

Oh geez! I'm sure Sam Antar and Gary Weiss will finally crawl back out from under their rocks to write about this! Like I said before, what the hell is wrong with Americans and their obsessions with guns? You just have a frickin' loaded Glock lying around in a gym bag in your closet? Loaded...no trigger lock...and just sitting in a bag where anyone can get their hands on it, not to mention a relatively high-profile CEO accidentally packing his luggage in it and trying to board a flight. You guys are retarded down there! ;D Cheers!

Hi Sanjeev--do you have any influence on the company, or is most of this speculation/desires on your part? or perhaps you can't say? No influence other than seeding the idea in their heads, as they are all friends of mine. Like any other shareholder I have votes as well, so I attend the AGM and express my opinion. Naturally, I'll be seeing all three together in Toronto in April, so I'll be seeding more ideas amongst them. Cheers!

Good points Uncommon! On the Franklin thing, I believe the contract was already signed when Tim got on there. Thus the promotion of Katherine Winder and buyout of Franklin later on. The film industry is tough for a small company. I think they need to think outside of the box. They need to monetize the credits and NOL's, but I'm not sure reinvesting more capital then they have to into the film industry is the right way to go. These guys are talented investors...my opinion is turn it into a holding company...Rainmaker, film business, credits & NOL's become a sub. Any profits should be brought up to the holding company and allocated by an Advisory Committee (Tim, Francis, Jeff & Craig)...be it equities, distressed debt, other operational businesses, or a combination. Cheers!

I felt the same way. Nothing wrong with it...just didn't feel right. Cheers! The man who sold the claim (evidently he had offered the claim to distressed debt or claims investors at the highest bid) wasn't a victim, but an offshore owner of a Madoff feeder fund. The managers of those feeder funds, unlike the victims, we're generally sophisticated operators who didn't ask too many questions about how Madoff made his remarkable stated returns. Once the fraud became known, a prudent, sophisticated manager should have waited for price discovery to see how much his claim was worth, given that the world's best attorney for recovering money was aggressively persuing restitution to victims who lost money. That he did not wait for price discovery to run it's course, suggests that other time sensitive motives a may have influenced his decision to sell the claim of his feeder fund for what was almost certainly going to be a discount to the value of the ultimate recovery. You're probably correct Tim. Just too bad the actual investors are getting screwed over by their manager. Cheers!

BAC Says Repaying Buffett May Have to Wait Until 8% Preferreds Are Redeemed: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-17/bofa-says-repaying-buffett-may-wait-until-8-preferreds-redeemed.html?cmpid=yhoo Cheers!

I never understand why it's such a conspiracy when earnings improve due to reserve releases, but it's all ok when earnings are punished due to increases in reserves. Reserves go up and down. Yup. Same with earnings spruced by utilizing tax losses. At some point they've already paid these things out...now they are just monetizing the assets...be it reserves or NOL's. Cheers!

I felt the same way. Nothing wrong with it...just didn't feel right. Cheers!

I read somewhere that this is a rather small position for him and it's speculated that this is more about settling score and the personal vendetta Icahn has against Ackman originating from the acrimonious past deal-gone-wrong. You may be right, because I think this is going to be more painful for Ackman then the whole "Target" fund debacle. Cheers!

Xing Xing did not end the sale. Rainmaker did. I suspect the film deal is to help monetize the film tax credits and NOL's over time. I think Craig and Tim's thinking is that the underlying assets need to be monetized, and then they can either return the capital to shareholders or increase shareholder value by utilizing them...be it in the film industry or elsewhere. The one thing that shareholders should probably understand is that you have 3 of the largest investors...4 if you include us...that are willing to backstop this thing and grow shareholder value. Their interests are aligned with yours, and they will not make a buck unless all shareholders make a buck. I can't think of too many other Canadian investors that I would want to be aligned with in such circumstances...Tim McElvaine, Francis Chou & Jeff Stacey. Three guys that will never screw over any shareholder! I also think that most of you guys would love Craig Graham...straight shooter and worked under Robert Beutel. Cheers!

Not so much a discipline as those who practice a lifestyle and carry specific traits. Even-tempered, entrepreneurial, independent thinkers who live frugal lives. They have to be analytical, but at the same time can simplify a problem into its most basic components, and take a rational view of the possible outcomes. To tell you the truth, I think Liberal Arts students probably have the best possible chance at being good investors because they've had exposure to diverse disciplines. Cheers!

Re-opening of the 2022 debt offering. Cheers! http://finance.yahoo.com/news/fairfax-launches-250-million-opening-195600081.html

Let me tell you something. I used to work right across the street from Google. I used to go way lunch in their cafeteria sometimes. I have a lot of friends who used work there, even more who deal with them. You can't go to a party in the Valley without running into someone from Google. I am having lunch a few 100 yards away from Google offices as i type this.There's more I can't disclose. I KNOW Google. Google is not modeled after Berk in practice. You two are confusing business/investment culture versus operational culture. I'm not talking about the day to day operations and dealings with employees. I'm talking about return on invested capital, building competitive advantages, creating businesses that would be hard to displace by others while maintaining a shareholder friendly corporation. Google is all that and more. You don't have to eat lunch in their cafeteria to figure that out! You're both so wound tight about engineers and Apple, that you can't even see any one else's point of view. I like Apple. I like their products, which I believe are very well engineered...imagine that and I don't even have an engineering degree. I think they are deep in talent as well. But so are alot of businesses. I don't think Berkshire will be quite the same without Buffett. I don't think Fairfax will be quite as good without Prem. And I don't think Apple will be quite as good without Steve Jobs. Is that so preposterous? And wait a sec and think about it before you reply, because you don't really have to reply. I'm making a statement...a personal opinion. It's neither right, nor wrong at this moment, just like yours. It's just a difference in opinion. Time will eventually tell the truth. Cheers!

You think Google's business culture is modeled after Berk? ;D ;D ;D Bill Gates was an engineer also. Ajit Jain, Jack Welch, Prem Watsa, etc, etc, etc I can tell you one thing, engineers have a better grasp of facts, LOL. Again, did I say all engineers? I said engineers make some of the worst businesspeople and investors because they are overly analytical. I never said all engineers makes terrible businesspeople or investors. For engineers, I would have presumed you both would have read my sentence in more detail and understood that. Apparently, you two fall into the exceptional category as well, and aren't that analytical after all. Cheers! If my statement was pointless, then it was probably about as pointless as your statement about having an engineering degree and being able to grasp the difference between the iPad and Surface better than non-engineers. Since both Steve Jobs and Bill Gates do not have engineering degrees, I'm surprised they even knew the difference! Cheers!

You think Google's business culture is modeled after Berk? ;D ;D ;D Knock yourself out. Cheers! http://investor.google.com/corporate/2004/ipo-founders-letter.html http://money.cnn.com/2004/05/01/technology/google_buffett/

You think Google's business culture is modeled after Berk? ;D ;D ;D Bill Gates was an engineer also. Ajit Jain, Jack Welch, Prem Watsa, etc, etc, etc I can tell you one thing, engineers have a better grasp of facts, LOL. Again, did I say all engineers? I said engineers make some of the worst businesspeople and investors because they are overly analytical. I never said all engineers makes terrible businesspeople or investors. For engineers, I would have presumed you both would have read my sentence in more detail and understood that. Apparently, you two fall into the exceptional category as well, and aren't that analytical after all. Cheers!

Neither did Steve Jobs....I hope he doesn't have an opinion on the iPad. LOL! Cheers!

i suggest reading the book again. Reading the book will make no difference. In most respects, the Surface is a good product that is pretty comparable to the iPad. Yet, how was the execution at Microsoft in marketing this thing and perfecting it under Ballmer? So far, it's been mediocre. Jobs greatest asset was his ability to perfect a product (his innovation or not), and then get people to pay 2 times more than it was worth relative to other products. That cannot be taught. Cook is not going to absorb that through his gills because he spent time around Jobs. It's like saying that I'll be a great physicist by working with Stephen Hawkings! Jobs second greatest asset was his ability to get the most out of the talent around him. He was a slave-driver that forced employees to get things right the first time...not on the second or third attempt. And ironically, they loved him even more for it while they hated how hard they had to work. That combination of drive, vision, competitiveness, marketing savvy, and understanding of technology in our daily lives is irreplaceable. Apple will be a good company without Jobs, but it will not be a great company. It's long-term existence will be similar to other technology companies. Cheers! I would refer you to something called company DNA. Apple does not need to be as good as under Jobs to maintain its lead. It just needs to be better than its competitors. Btw, you think Cook is not a task master? Engineers make some of the worst investors and business people, because they look at everything through the eyes of an engineer. Cheers! ;D ;D ;D. Funny, Google is run by engineers, so is FB and many if not most tech companies. Also, what does Munger say about engineering mental models? i suggest reading the book again. Reading the book will make no difference. In most respects, the Surface is a good product that is pretty comparable to the iPad. Yet, how was the execution at Microsoft in marketing this thing and perfecting it under Ballmer? So far, it's been mediocre. Jobs greatest asset was his ability to perfect a product (his innovation or not), and then get people to pay 2 times more than it was worth relative to other products. That cannot be taught. Cook is not going to absorb that through his gills because he spent time around Jobs. It's like saying that I'll be a great physicist by working with Stephen Hawkings! Jobs second greatest asset was his ability to get the most out of the talent around him. He was a slave-driver that forced employees to get things right the first time...not on the second or third attempt. And ironically, they loved him even more for it while they hated how hard they had to work. That combination of drive, vision, competitiveness, marketing savvy, and understanding of technology in our daily lives is irreplaceable. Apple will be a good company without Jobs, but it will not be a great company. It's long-term existence will be similar to other technology companies. Cheers! I would refer you to something called company DNA. Apple does not need to be as good as under Jobs to maintain its lead. It just needs to be better than its competitors. Btw, you think Cook is not a task master? Engineers make some of the worst investors and business people, because they look at everything through the eyes of an engineer. Cheers! Yes, but they often become too analytical and exclude common sense. Most analysts are terrible investors as well. Investing often requires a simplified view, and not overly analytical. You are welcome to call me simple! Did I say all engineers are bad investors? Brin & Page obviously aren't any typical engineer. Their business culture is modelled after Berkshire. What about Paul Allen...the Woz? Would you call them brilliant investors or good engineers who were fortunate they knew Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Cheers!

i suggest reading the book again. Reading the book will make no difference. In most respects, the Surface is a good product that is pretty comparable to the iPad. Yet, how was the execution at Microsoft in marketing this thing and perfecting it under Ballmer? So far, it's been mediocre. Jobs greatest asset was his ability to perfect a product (his innovation or not), and then get people to pay 2 times more than it was worth relative to other products. That cannot be taught. Cook is not going to absorb that through his gills because he spent time around Jobs. It's like saying that I'll be a great physicist by working with Stephen Hawkings! Jobs second greatest asset was his ability to get the most out of the talent around him. He was a slave-driver that forced employees to get things right the first time...not on the second or third attempt. And ironically, they loved him even more for it while they hated how hard they had to work. That combination of drive, vision, competitiveness, marketing savvy, and understanding of technology in our daily lives is irreplaceable. Apple will be a good company without Jobs, but it will not be a great company. It's long-term existence will be similar to other technology companies. Cheers! I would refer you to something called company DNA. Apple does not need to be as good as under Jobs to maintain its lead. It just needs to be better than its competitors. Btw, you think Cook is not a task master? Engineers make some of the worst investors and business people, because they look at everything through the eyes of an engineer. Cheers!