Parsad

You'll probably see some of the European nations doing the same thing. Cheers! http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-29/japan-ruling-party-reaches-agreement-on-doubling-sales-tax-to-10-by-2015.html

Article in today's Globe & Mail on Sears and Lampert. Cheers! http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/breaking-views/its-time-for-sears-chairman-to-admit-defeat/article2285274/

Article on Sequoia. Cheers! http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-29/cutting-buffett-helps-sequoia-fund-top-value-investor-rankings.html

Continue to surprise. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-29/north-american-rail-freight-carloads-for-dec-24-table-.html?cmpid=yhoo Cheers!

About 40% sold on the buffet tickets already. If you have not bought, you should do so in the next few weeks. We have tons of the single-seat, no dinner tickets. Only one sold so far. Cheers!

About 40% sold on the buffet tickets already. If you have not bought, you should do so in the next few weeks. We have tons of the single-seat, no dinner tickets. Only one sold so far. Cheers!

Article on the problems within the restaurant industry. Cheers! http://www.cnbc.com/id/45756655

Good article on Sears' issues. Cheers! http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-28/sears-as-lampert-s-mismanaged-asset-loses-shoppers-flowing-to-macy-s.html

Hi Twa, I agree with Buffett's comments, but how is Saks and Macy's doing better than Sears? Part of it is that the department store business' economics and moats have diminished, but a great deal is also execution. Sears has not executed well at all. Cheers!

Richard Garneau, who was one of our guests at last year's dinner and is CEO of Abitibi, had a short, but very good interview in the Globe & Mail. Cheers! http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/abitibibowater-from-behemoth-to-lean-and-green/article2283877/

They are moving way too slow. This was the problem in the past and remains now. They need to close 600-800 stores, not 100-120. Their footprint is way too big in this market, and they need to shrink to compete. They've made a few good steps...subleasing space, spinning out brands to other retailers...but far more mistakes...not closing or selling stores, buying back shares at ridiculous prices, not bringing in actual quality retail experience, blowing cash on maintaining stores that should have gone long ago, not rapidly revamping their number of products and merchandising. Frankly, I'd be far more intrigued in Sears if they had closed 600-800 stores. Closing 100-120 means that they are going to continue to blow cash on stores that over time will continue to produce decreasing sales. And geez, why the hell do they still have the catalog business? The only catalog they should produce is the Christmas catalog. All the others are a waste of time and money, and they should have long ago moved their customers to online shopping. Cheers!

Peter...you're fired as CEO! How dare you say Trump is just pretending to run. He's worth $7B! His daughter thinks he'll be a great president. And no president in recent history has hair like that...the only one that came close was Kim Jong-Il on a windy day. Cheers!

If Trump runs as an independent, and unemployment continues to decrease over the next 8-10 months, I'm betting that Obama gets re-elected. Just when everyone thought that Herman Cain was the worst thing that could happen to American politics, and nothing could top Sarah Palin! ;D Cheers! http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/23/trump-dumps-gop/?hpt=hp_t3

Article on Berkshire and Buffett in 2011. Cheers! http://www.cnbc.com/id/45778380

Just like to thank you all for your contributions through the year, your friendship, and the support shown for board events...in particular our annual Fairfax Financial Shareholder's Dinner. Hope you all have a happy holiday, and wish you all the best for 2012! Cheers!

Hi Racemize, I highly recommend that you stay at a hotel in the downtown core...in particular, not too far (within a short taxi ride) from the Fairmont Royal York or Roy Thomson Hall. Plenty to do downtown, and lots of restaurants, bars, etc. There is a good airport shuttle that runs regularly from the airport to seven main hotels downtown, and is less than half the price of a cab. Although if you come with your family or a friend, then a cab is a good alternative. I'm sure others will be able to give you more tips. Cheers!

Did we expect anything less? 100 bucks says that one of the remaining firms doesn't get the case dropped against them, and is used as the scapegoat by the courts. Cheers!

That sort of describes my sentiments. Moore, last I checked, after the financial crisis, Chanos multi-year returns were zero. Al. Well, actually Chanos provides a very important service of negative correlation to his institutional clients as I was told many years ago when I questioned his numbers. ;D It's worth it for those institutions to pay him "2 & 20" for near zero returns over 15-20 years! Plus how else could he get a beautiful escort like Ashley Dupree to call him "Uncle Jim", when he was putting her up at his Hampton home for buddy Elliott Spitzer. Cheers!

Yes, I do the same thing with Christmas lights, but I think it may say two different things: Either more confidence, or more people are staying home for the holidays instead of travelling. Definitely more lights this year than the last three. Cheers!

the obsession with tangible book is transitory. someday US Trust Merrill Lynch will be valued at ~ 2 x TB. Someday the deposit gathering system will be worth more than tangible book. So this obsession with tangible book is really a ZH/CW "phenomenon" that will someday not matter. It's a function of confidence. My point exactly...well said! The main concern should always be is the business' operations improving? Are the legal liabilities being crystalized and given an exact number? Are loan losses increasing or decreasing? Does the business have enough liquidity? Cheers!

I am curious--what has tangible book done over the last 5 or 10 years? Is there a table somewhere listing that? Is the trend still down? If I worried about trends, then I would never have bought Berkshire B's 12 years ago at $1,400, Fairfax 8 years ago at less than $125, Steak'n Shake 3 years ago at a post-split $80, or Bank of America today at $5.35. Instead, I would have bought Nortel at $110, Sears at $130, Research In Motion at $60, and Salesforce.com at $135. I like my picks instead! ;D Cheers!

I don't think it's about moving the needle in large increments. They are looking for businesses that they understand, want a permanent home, are at a fair price, and will give them the possibility of larger returns than what other asset classes will over the longer term. National Indemnity wasn't terribly large when acquired by Berkshire and look at it today under Ajit Jain's guidance? You never know what something can become with the right person at the helm, and a long-term view taken by the owner. Cheers!

Record numbers for online retailers as well. As the excess housing inventory decreases, at some point, you could see signifcant growth...probably at least a couple of years away. I suspect with housing prices probably dropping another 5% or so in the next 8-12 months, that will probably be the bottom. Cheers!

Prem's working on buying businesses from Toronto out! ;D Cheers!

As expected, tickets are selling briskly...faster than last year! We've sold almost 25 in less than two days, and they are all the buffet tickets. Cheers!