Liberty

There could also be a halo effect going on. People keep hearing that WFC is great, so when pollsters call them, they have a favorable predisposition, while the reverse is true with BAC. Not sure how strong such an effect would be, though.

Thanks, I knew about that trick, but didn't know FT was one of the sites with which it worked.

Hey Jeff, Tough year indeed. Always hard to see something you think was already very cheap get much cheaper on you. I haven't sold a FTP share as I think there are a bunch of important catalysts coming next year and now is probably the worst time to consider selling (meaning probably the best time to consider buying, but I've already got too much so I haven't bought more). I wish they could do buybacks, but not really possible :) I agree with most of what was written in the recent VIC writeup that was posted here, so I won't repeat it to avoid redundancy. If the stock recovers enough in 2013, I'll probably reduce my position a bit because I've decided to be more diversified (to figure out my comfort level I had to do some trial & error, and I think I'm moving towards something that works for me), but I intend to keep a big core FTP position at least until after LSQ is ramped up and then we'll see. update: What's your current thinking on FTP, if I might ask?

For those of us who don't have a FT subscription, could you quote a choice excerpt or summarize the gist of it please? Thank you. :)

Thanks for posting! Nothing cures low prices like low prices, and vice versa. All that is needed is time and a macro environment that is not so bad that billions of people can't afford a few more pieces of clothing anymore, IMO.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-12/fed-boosts-qe-with-45-billion-in-monthly-treasury-purchases.html Here we go again.

Or saying something that will get him media exposure :)

http://business.financialpost.com/2012/12/12/bill-gates-ups-cn-rail-stake-to-12/

Thanks, I added it to the list. At first I expected this to be just a 'halo effect' thing, but I think they've got a great list of people, and just any info about their career should be very interesting, so I'll def. pick it up at some point.

http://a2.ec-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/63/afdfa8b0ecaca7c411ad3b15c0dfcf6a/l.jpg

Glad I bought a full position in AIG yesterday morning. But guys, don't buy too soon, now that I'm in it'll tank 30-40% any day now :P

Good point, I forgot about those. He could still have been trying to buy Munich whole and just not had the right opportunity yet, though... As for AIG, it could be the underwriting. Or maybe he just really doesn't like life insurance? Anyone knows if Buffett has ever touched it? It's now a smaller, but still significant part of AIG.

I could be wrong, but my feeling is that Buffett doesn't invest in insurance companies if he can't control how the float is invested. So he buys them whole, or not at all, and AIG's not an elephant, it's a blue whale.

Ran across an article where someone from AIG stated that they will not participate in this buyback. It's mentioned on Bloomberg: "Before today, the U.S. had sold $44 billion of AIG shares in five offerings, and the insurer bought back $13 billion in the sales. AIG will not buy shares in the latest offering, said Jim Ankner, a spokesman for the company. The New York Fed in August finished selling securities that it acquired in AIG’s rescue." http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-10/aig-bailout-that-angered-bernanke-to-end-with-treasury-sale-1-.html

It also says: "Any bidder must have experience of bank note printing, having printed volumes of at least 500m notes at a single site in a year within the last three years," so I doubt they could take over the actual printing facility. But if they can supply the secure paper, that'd help optimize LQ operations for sure. I wonder what kind of tonnage we're talking about, and if they need one supplier for the whole thing or if it can be split among more than one security paper producer.

http://www.fortresspaper.com/images/pdfs/PR%20.Dec%202012%20Shareholder%20Rights%20Plan.pdf

I just got it. Haven't started yet, but I enjoyed his previous two..

New amazon product: http://aws.amazon.com/redshift/

Meanwhile at Cliffs, things are pretty rough.. http://www.canadianbusiness.com/article/107288--cliffs-natural-resources-delays-expansion-at-bloom-lake-mine-in-quebec

The video is up: http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/12672

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-27/dimon-would-be-best-treasury-secretary-in-crisis-buffett-says.html

http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/videos/view/211 Video and audio files are available for download at the bottom if the embedded player doesn't work. Enjoy!

Yes, happy thanksgiving to all our American friends!

Thanks. Is the rest of the movie worth watching?

Thanks for sharing color on the AGM, guys. Any other interesting shareholder questions came up? Any other executives that you had a chance to talk to?