Parsad

I know, but I thought I would get people excited. Cheers!

Not sure if this was posted or not. Interesting ties to Fairfax! Thanks to John for sending me the link! http://business.financialpost.com/2013/10/19/meet-michael-sitrick-the-fixer-you-call-when-your-reputation-is-on-the-line/

As of October 1, 2013, we are managing $2.5 Million of float of a small privately held insurance company in a separate account. I like the Founder/CEO quite a bit and explored getting them to invest in one of the funds, but the various state insurance regulations made that option too onerous. Besides, the US funds are closed. These funds represent a small percentage of their float. The amount we manage for them may increase over time. The investment style is likely to be a lot more concentrated than Pabrai Funds. When fully invested, three or four positions will likely make up 90+% of assets. I have not had any new investment ideas in about 15 months. Thus, as I write this letter, the separate account is 100% invested in money market funds. Alright groupies, go to work! Who do you think the CEO and company are? Is Mohnish diversifying into managing insurance assets? Could this be Monsieur Jain's National Indemnity? C'mon throw your ideas out there. Cheers!

Wow! Never knew they were friends. I remember watching Williams with the Bulls. Cheers!

He'll possibly push his agenda as the largest shareholder until he possibly forces board members out. Either tow the line or you will be out. Cheers!

Hi Munger, You might be coming when we are in another shortened set of "lean years"! I'm sure there will be plenty of questions about the hedges, BBRY and three years of a stock market running up. Might feel like old times once the media is done putting them through the wringer. ;D Cheers!

That contract better be more binding than the paper it's written on. How many ways has he figured out how to get what he wants? If the CBRL board agrees to a contract, it will be a short tenure for the current board. Let's see if they are smarter than that! Cheers!

Except that people were still banking with BoA, the business had some issues, but was still intact. This is anecdotal, but we were at the mall recently. There are quarter rides right in front of Sears that my sons love, so each time we're at the mall we do these things. During the time the boys rode the helicopter and robot no one walked in or out of Sears, this isn't surprising because no one was in there to start with. Every other store had a steady flow of people in and out, even the niche stores that I'm surprised have customers. Both Sears and Kmart have completely lost mindshare, how are they going to gain it back? I know this is a real estate hedge fund transformation play, but the concern is that the dying retail sucks them dry first. How are they going to attract customers? Has anyone been in a Kmart recently? I live in a nice area of Pittsburgh, the local Kmart has destroyed the shopping center they're at, the place is dirty, dis-sheveled, and full of empty shelves. I was in there in the spring, went to the garden section, the shelves were empty, it looked like pictures from the Soviet Union. Why isn't the store selling gardening items in the spring? I have no idea. I agree with many posters that the story here is compelling, it makes fascinating reading and is fun to watch. My concern is that the ball around Sears' ankle (the retail) is pulling it down faster than Eddie can swim and this is going to sink before Eddie & co can get to the boat. These were the same issues around DQ for many years. Berkshire/DQ were not investing a lot of money in the older stores, and only building new model stores. Many of the older DQ's looked disgusting. Only in the last 7-8 years have they started to put money into the older locations. It seems as though value investors only worry about return on invested capital...if it doesn't meet a specific threshold, they don't care too much about what the store looks like. For every Sears store that looks like that one, I can go into another one and show how good it looks...not modern and up to date like Target, Macy's, etc. But at least clean, with inventory, staffing, etc. Granted Sears today is not Sears of yesteryear, but it isn't much worse than many other dying retailers. Eddie is not going to pour money into turning these stores around or making them look like Saks Fifth Avenue! If he can stabilize them and reap a profit, great! If not, shut 'er down, sell the lease or land, or possibly redevelop. The assets and cash are better used elsewhere. Cheers!

Working from the home office today...just toast, eggs and a Nespresso! Cheers!

Maybe they spent too much money on the Google Ads! They were very nice looking ads. Cheers!

I agree with you Packer! If you are providing very specific content to an industry or market, why would your market deteriorate in totality of print and online viewership? This forum provides very specific content to a specific target market, and has grown at 30-40%+ annual rates of viewership? Why would specific trade journals, community newspapers, etc, not continue to grow in their niche markets at least at single or double digit rates when total viewership (online and print) are calculated? As Marshall McLuhan once said, the medium is the message! It takes time for content providers to come to terms with the societal impact new medium have on distribution. Those that provide broad content with few barriers to entry, in a world where the cost of distribution is closer to zero than at any time in history, are susceptible to being wiped out. Those that provide much more specific content with some barriers, have a much better chance at adapting to the new medium and surviving. Cheers!

For an old guy, Buffett is incredibly in tune with popular culture. I think he was referencing Stephen Wolf, but alluding to the quote from Pulp Fiction as well. This is the guy who just played Walter White in his own AGM film, before the huge ode to Breaking Bad that the rest of the world was writing for the last five months as the show ended. He's incredibly in touch with all facets of American culture from politics, sports, entertainment, etc. That's what makes him so fascinating to even the non-investor! Cheers!

We finally sold 20% of the position today. Still have the other 80%. Cheers!

Short article on Arlington. Cheers! http://seekingalpha.com/article/1753932-learning-from-arlington-values-picks?source=yahoo

Some of the managers and analysts are given portions of the portfolio to manage (from half a billion plus to just ten million). It could be that the position is one an analyst took. Cheers!

+1! Cheers!

Love slide 37! More of indictment than a take-down. How do you go and cure the ails of other corporate boards, when you have borderline unethical conduct happening at your own...people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones! Cheers!

I guess the result is OK, but market is unhappy and OSTK is down 8% pre-market… I think they are unhappy for two reasons...the stock was way ahead of itself and look at that sales/marketing expense line...there's another $5-7M in profit in that line. I don't know why the big jump, even with the ramp up to Christmas! Cheers!

Already one-third sold out! Get your tickets before they are gone. Cheers!

We are one-third sold out already! Get your tickets before they are gone. Cheers!

I think it's too premature to come to any conclusions on Tracy Britt. Those articles seemed quite sensationalistic, so I'm not sure they carry much weight with me. Time will show if she is qualified or not, but Buffett certainly thinks she's talented...at the same time, she is young too. I would let time guide any decision on her abilities. Cheers!

I have a copy of it, actually. I don't think she would mind me posting: Dear Mr. Buffett, Enclosed with this letter, please find a copy of the 6th edition of Graham and Dodd's Security Analysis which features your forward. Rest assured, this book is not for you! I know that you already have two beloved copies of this book, and since I don’t have an original copy with Graham’s notes inside, there is little that I can do to add to your library. Rather, it is my hope that you will find the time to sign this book and have someone return it using the return label provided. In January, my husband is opening his first investment fund, based on the principles of Graham, Marks, and of course, you. Over the last few years, he has devoured any information on value investing and analysis with a passion! I would love to present him with this book, which already means so much to him, made even more special with an inscription from his personal hero. He would be overjoyed, and I will have won the "greatest gift game" for at least the next decade. We both admire and respect you and your career, and I hope that this letter finds you well. Thank you for being an inspiration to so many, especially my husband who has never been happier since finding his own passion for value investing. With great respect and thanks, That's a great letter she wrote! She's a keeper...not only does she actually listen to you about Buffett and value investing, but she got the greatest investor to sign a book for you and mail it back. You won't ever do better than her! ;D Cheers!

I think nowadays you can just buy a degree! Common sense cannot be bought. Cheers!

Very nice! You owe your wife a nice gift from Borsheim's now! ;D Cheers!

No, check the math Siddarth...closer to 14.5% annualized, during a period when the S&P did less than 5% annualized. Cheers!