Parsad

Hell yeah! Alright! That was about my only real complaint about Steak'n Shake left. I love McDonald's french fries and I love the thick cut ones at Red Robin, so I think they really needed to switch to one or the other. Alot of people, and we're talking billions, love the McDonalds ones, so I think they made the right choice. Cheers!

Seven insurers this year have been forced into rehabilitation this year, compared to four last year. Penn Treaty is the latest casualty. Cheers! http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ae9RjCMGOqkk

Holding company is "The Steak n Shake Company". That's a good name...kind of like "The Coca-cola Company". I'm guessing you mean the subs - "Steak n Shake Operations", "Steak n Shake Enterprises" & "Steak n Shake, LLC". I suppose the first is the restaurant business and franchises, the second is acquired businesses (WEST), and the third is real estate and other endeavours. Cheers!

You know what's crazy? This dipshit puts out these phony press releases and gets these articles written, and then probably manages to raise millions in investment capital. But here we are, kicking the market's ass for four years during the worst economic slump in decades, and we can barely raise a dime. Amazing! Cheers!

I decided to spend another ten minutes on this and see what I could come up with. Apparently, one of Artin's first deals at Javan was to buy a company called "The Countertop Company" where financial terms were not disclosed, and they had multiple locations around Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina. He had this to say about the deal back then: "In the current economy, realizing solid returns on investment from the capital markets is tough," said Afsharjavan in a statement. "But, there are still great opportunities for long-term gains through direct investment in small companies with strong business models that offer growth potential." I found the company website and called a few of the stores: - The first one in Alexandria had some poor old Italian lady answer and she had no friggin' idea what I was talking about - The second location in Richmond is closed "due to the poor economic environment". - The third in Rockville had no answer or voicemail. - The fourth in Charlotte was disconnected. Somebody should write an article asking him to back up anything written about him! Cheers!

I think he's full of shit! I've tried to view their website, but it seems like it's half-finished and partly still under construction. When I tried to log-in to their client site, it wouldn't even let me attempt to enter any sort of username/password. It goes straight to "password" on a new page. I've tried to find stuff on this guy, and all I can find is the same articles and stories from when he was 19, that he sold his businesses to some company called "Javan Capital" for $6M, and he was starting a new company dealing with diamonds. No EDGAR filings for Artin, Javan Capital or New Century Investments...nothing. You would think he would have gone after some small company at some point, thus probably would have had to file a 13-D. Then all the other articles and press releases available are around this Trump offer. Trump's representative only said that they aren't sure that New Century can back their offer. His LinkedIn profile says he was CEO at Continental Alliance Corp. At EDGAR, Continental stopped filing in 1999. If he's 21 now, then he was filing his 10-Q's and 10-K's when he was 11 years old...at the latest...the earliest filings go back to 1997, so he started when he was eight years old. Javan Capital Partners website is under construction, yet he sold his businesses to them for $6M last year. I don't know who this Persian is but he ain't no Biglari. Any journalist writing about him should spend the same ten minutes I did and do some due diligence! Cheers!

Looks like some numbnutz bought 100 shares near the ask price and pushed it up. I can understand if someone bought several thousand or even several hundred, but 100 shares looks pretty damn obvious that someone is just propping up their quarterly numbers. Cheers!

From what I remember, their cost basis for each produced item was already on par or less than conventionally used packaging. So in essence, if the companies they sell their machines to can utilize them with some scale, then they would not only be environmentally-friendly, but their existing costs for conventional packaging would decrease. One example was that their present cost for producing an environmentally-friendly lid for coffee cups (Starbucks, McDonalds, etc.) would be about five cents each. Now if McDonalds or Starbucks could produce those lids in scale, by buying cellulose-based materials in quantity, then it could feasibly come down to 3 cents a lid or so. I know they've sold two machines in the past, and they had raised about $20-30M, but not sure what Fairfax's long-term idea is. Could be Prem was looking for a nice yield again, and whether it's $5M, $50M or $500M, that is money put to work. Cheers!

Steak'n Shake has converted to the holding company structure and replaced their old credit agreement with a new one. http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/93859/000009385909000057/form8k92909.htm With the new agreement belonging to the restaurant subsidiary, the holding company no longer has any restrictions on its investing abilities. Cheers!

Maybe, but not sure. From what I remember, I think they were sugar and cellulose based. Maybe the website has more details on the containers. Cheers!

Hey I met with these guys about a year ago. They were looking at financing their expansion and we were offered a buy in. Not our kind of business, as it doesn't really have alot of long-term competitive advantages. There are other much larger companies that already offer biodegradeable packaging. Their office is right behind ours and across from Tim McElvaine's. If I knew Prem was looking for these types of businesses, I would have told him about them. It's a new form of packaging, and they've got interest from McDonalds and alot of other companies. At that time, they were testing their products with these different companies. The containers are solid and work, but definitely not something we were going to put MPIC's money in. Perhaps, McDonalds testing has paid off and they've put in an order for the machines. That would be a deal worth tens of millions long-term in North America alone! Cheers!

Great notes Alex! Thanks very much and welcome to the board. Cheers!

...in Ralph Nader's new book! Cheers! http://www.cnbc.com/id/33019473

It is believed that 22 European banks have combined credit losses of $580B US! Cheers! http://www.cnbc.com/id/33030450

This Reuter's article from June had Canada pegged at 33% and that's after the large fiscal deficit from all the stimulus spending this year. Cheers! http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSN1151927220090611

Yeah, I keep hearing this also in the news, yet I'm not sure what comparisons they are using? I think they are including provincial debt, as well as social security. Based on simple federal debt to GDP, Canada has done a terrific job, both through the Liberal Government from the Chretien era and the Conservative Government under Steven Harper, and that ratio is far lower than the U.S. Infact, I believe it is one of the lowest numbers of any G20 economy. So, I'm also at a loss at exactly what numbers people are using when they say Canada's debt burden is as onerous as the U.S. Cheers!

Thanks Netnet and Grenville. Cheers!

Hi Netnet, You forgot the link. Cheers!

Article on the Goldman investment Berkshire made one year ago. Cheers! http://www.cnbc.com/id/32982928

Hi Folks, Unfortunately, as we work our way through this process with management, all future discussions on ITEX will be removed from this board. Our group is the beneficial owner of 12% of ITEX, and as owner of this message board, we do not want to ever be viewed as a large shareholder wielding undue influence. Investors are more than welcome to discuss this company elsewhere, but unfortunately it will have to be excluded from here. Perhaps, Farnamstreet can facilitate your discussions on this matter. Thanks very much! Cheers!

does anyone know how much of Mr. Watsa net work is in Fairfax financial? Over 90%. Cheers!

California unemployment at 12% is the highest in nearly 70 years. Remember, this does not include people whose hours have been cut, or those that have fallen off the actively seeking employment rolls. House prices and unemployment need to stabilize there...as California goes, so does most of the U.S. Cheers! http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/19/us/19calif.html?hpw

As many of us suggested here, Fairfax has upped their offer to $65, and I think this will be accepted by the shareholders. Cheers! http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fairfax-to-commence-tender-offer-for-minority-stake-in-odyssey-re-for-65-per-share-in-cash-2009-09-18

Up from 29 in July. Also 12 states now have 10% or greater unemployment, with five above 12%. Cheers! http://finance.yahoo.com/news/42-states-lose-jobs-in-August-apf-1171568305.html;_ylt=AvepGKi88X6XucfhRRKzkoi7YWsA;_ylu=X3oDMTE1Yms0aGwwBHBvcwMzBHNlYwN0b3BTdG9yaWVzBHNsawM1c3RhdGVzc2Vlam8-?x=0&.v=3&sec=topStories&pos=1&asset=&ccode=

I'm sure some of the criticism is fair. A couple of points he didn't make. - He commented on shares increasing, but did not note the growth in book value and investments per share, or for that matter earnings. All grew significantly faster than the growth in shares. - Yes, the company did face a situation that was very precarious back in 2003, but errors in judgement happen. Today the company is in better shape than ever. - Only a handful of people around the world would have been able to turn this ship around when it began floundering in 2003. Prem deserves to be recognized in the category of great insurance executives, along with the likes of Warren Buffett. Cheers!