Parsad

New York City hired the former chief executive of MF Global to help manage their pension investments. I love this comment: The Comptroller's office said Davis was the best applicant for the job. http://www.cnbc.com/id/45507571 Cheers!

John Stumpf, CEO of Wells Fargo, had some general comments. Cheers! http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/01/us-wellsfargo-stumpf-idUSTRE7B027R20111201

Hi Mungerville, I didn't say it was the death of equities. It was Businessweek or some other magazine. My point was just that when the media starts touting the death of equities or that we are in the midst of another Great Depression, then that's usually an indication that Mr. Market is feeling a bit too pessimistic. Are things bad...yes, in Europe. Things aren't great in the U.S., but they are coming off of a very severe recession due mostly from speculation in the housing market, and significant deleveraging is continuing as we speak. But things are improving, and from all indications, we are in the midst of a recovery albeit a very slow, precarious one. U.S. corporations are in the best shape they've been in about 50 years. They have tremendous liquidity and debt is at near historic lows. Yes, earnings are historically high, but even if they contracted 25%, you would suddenly have many equities trading at only fair value after that drop. BAC is trading at 2 times pre-tax, pre-provision earnings! I don't buy the market, but I do buy individual securities. I can't control when they will be valued closer to intrinsic value, only that I know they will be over time. The low for equities during the Great Depression occurred in 1932. From there, they never looked back! The low for the Great Recession occurred in early 2009, and equities will not look back either. We are just fortunate that certain financial securities continue to trade at 2008/2009 valuations, even though their businesses, balance sheets, objectives and operating cash flows have become stronger and stronger. Markets may tread sideways or they may go up from here...who knows? But I would bet my last nickel that they won't go down to what we saw in late 2008 and early 2009. And I assure you we won't see such yields on quality corporate debt again in our lifetime. That was an extraordinary period for equities...but even more extraordinary on the debt side...significantly cheaper than debt ever was at any period during the 70's, and probably never seen since the Great Depression. Cheers!

Interest rates were also significantly higher in the 70's and early 80's. Interest rates are at the lowest levels today since the 1930's. Your alternatives to GIC's, treasuries and corporate debt is equities whose annual dividend yields are twice as high, while actual yield on investment is more than triple what fixed income would get. Very big difference than equities trading at 3-4 times earnings in the 70's, but interest rates were at 6-7% or higher. Cheers!

I think that is exactly what you should be doing. That's all Buffett cares about as well, and really all we have control over to any degree. Cheers!

Slow and steady as she goes. Cheers! http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-01/manufacturing-in-u-s-grows-at-faster-pace-as-ism-index-increases-to-52-7.html

Solid numbers across the board. Cheers! http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-01/north-american-rail-freight-carloads-for-nov-26-table-.html?cmpid=yhoo

Since according to this board, Warren doesn't do anything for charity, nor will he 'bail out' anyone unless there are unadulterated, upscene PROFITS to be gleaned, why would he be buying a newspaper from the old world, or non digital one where the internet is displacing the old guards by his and Charlie's own admissions? So what is the upside for him to donate nearly his entire fortune to the Gates Foundation? What profits are to be garnered by that? I think Buffett bought the Omaha World-Herald so as to preserve his hometown paper, a source of knowledge and joy when he began delivering it 70 years ago. At the same time, it is a business that is somewhat of a monopoly in Omaha, and while it won't garner him huge returns, it should be able to deliver reasonable cash flows as long as it is in existence. Other than that, I don't try to, nor require the need to wonder why Buffett is buying something. I only wonder about why I'm buying something! ;D Cheers!

I am probably asking too much to see a return to 2008 when investors were puking their guts up and we saw real capitulation. A disorderly Euro exit, or something that would spook the markets is just what I would like to see. It's very unlikely you will see that. There is just too much activity by federal governments and treasuries to allow such a collapse again. Any significant hint of something happening, and you will see intervention. It is far more likely that markets will tread sideways within a range for a period of time, and then slowly move up as deleveraging continues and valuations drop over time. I stated a while ago that it is unlikely you will see the S&P500 at 1000 again. Not that it can't happen, but because as we get anywhere near that, governments step in. It would take some completely unknown shock to the system to cause a collapse like 2008...Chinese banks going under, nuclear attack, massive earthquake in Los Angeles, etc. You've got a very slow recovery occurring in the U.S., some attempts at stabilization in Europe and China easing monetary policy. It's unlikely that you will see S&P500 670 again in the next six to twelve months or perhaps even in the next couple of years. If it is/was going to happen, now would be the time. If you see any progress with Europe increasing financial ties across the Union, then it is unlikely we will see a significant drop in markets. But hey, stranger things have happened! ;D Cheers!

5 year BB user just switched to iPhone 4S and very happy. I had to use my brothers Blackberry for Google Maps yesterday. I almost threw the BB out the window. Welcome to 2011 FFHWatcher! ;D It's nice when an electronic appliance actually works exactly the way the user would like it to. Cheers!

Leverage in U.S. banks remain near an all-time low, while bankers are itching to start lending again. Cheers! http://www.cnbc.com/id/45466176

Me too! Maybe that's why I posted it. ;D Cheers!

Should read death of equities and housing, as no one will ever want to own either again...correct?! ;D Cheers!

True, very true. But it takes some skill in finding good managers. His father did the same when he hired Richard Currie back in the day. Cheers!

Not too many times you see the children of entrepreneurs take over the family business and continue to improve and compete. Galen G. Weston took over at the helm of Canada's largest grocery chain, Loblaws, and has done a terrific job of trying to compete with big-box U.S. chains that have invaded and continue to invade Canada. He took over from his father, who took over from his father, and each generation has done a good job of remaining competitive and reinventing the brand. The present Weston in charge, has also made himself into a very affable commercial figure who represents his brand exceedingly well...maybe something Sardar could learn from! Anyway, they just opened their new flagship store in Toronto in the old Maple Leaf Gardens. Cheers! http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/the-puck-drops-on-the-new-loblaws-store/article2255148/

As discussed yesterday, while not enough to offset unemployment numbers, private sector job hiring is increasing. Cheers! http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=OBR&data-ipsquote-timestamp=20111130&id=14573424

Always interesting to see what brands or businesses have become extinguished, while some remain within cult-like status among small groups. Cheers! http://money.msn.com/investment-advice/10-brand-names-gone-but-not-forgotten-thestreet.aspx?cp-documentid=6846398

How fitting that Buffett acquires the Omaha World-Herald. After years of reading it, watching copies of it distributed to his shareholders on AGM day, and numerous articles of his successes documented in it, who else would make sense to buy and preserve the paper than the greatest investor of all time...a hometown boy who built his fortune delivering it! Buffett's life comes full circle. Extraordinary...simply extraordinary. Cheers!

Just so there is no misunderstanding, I was being sarcastic. Oh! ;D Cheers!

The article is here: http://tinyurl.com/8y9we5b They all pretty much got taken down a notch. I suspect BAC knew they were possibly going to be downgraded with everyone else, thus the sale of almost all of their stake in China Construction Bank. Cheers!

Mr. Parsad, if you turn this thread into a debate about LVLT, who is going to ban you to The Island of Misfit Toys? By the way, that's on television tonight. My favorite line is "Bumbles bounce!" Cheers!

I don't know about Boucher, but all I can say is that Prem and Wilbur Ross won't sit idly by if the bank is put in any sort of jeopardy by mismanagement. Who knows, they may already be working on replacing Boucher or adding directors to the board. We don't know, so these are probably questions people can ask at the AGM or dinner. Cheers!

Many of you have heard of the Jetman, but here he is now flying in formation with Breitlings pilots. Very cool, and once again, amazing what humanity can dream up. Cheers! http://www.jetman.com/?page_id=24

Carl, last time I checked LVLT was down too! Maybe the shoe shine boys should stick to shoe shining. ;D Cheers!

They are still saving, just not at the pace immediately after the contraction. Low interest rates, combined with lower commodity prices, also suggest that pressure on the consumer has stabilized. Even in a low-interest rate environment, there is some stagflationary effect on the consumer due to higher taxes and frictional costs, but they are reducing their debt levels while increasing savings. If all the consumer did was save, then we would be facing greater headwinds like Japan with contraction in private sector job creation. Instead, we are facing the opposite situation...the private sector is hiring in droves. Not enough to fully impact unemployment yet, but it is getting better slowly. In regards to debt declining due to defaults and writeoffs, it doesn't matter. Whether the consumer pays or institutions pay, it comes out of the economy. Financial institutions have been conservative in their loan loss provisions. They have the capacity to absorb some of those loan losses with their balance sheets as strong as they are. The consumer is in more of a fragile state, as their greatest source of equity, their homes, have dropped 50% in value. If I had to choose whose debt load decreases at the moment, I would choose the consumers...be it through default, writeoffs, restructuring or payment. The sooner they deleverage, the better it is for the economy long-term, and in particular, for the housing market and housing related industries. Cheers!