Liberty

I added to my position in Markel today.

It absolutely seems like the best book on WEB, if only I could buy it... Been trying for months to find the 2010 edition at a decent price (not $200). I think I might have to order the 2009 edition...

I've never bought BH and don't have plans to buy it because of management.

Thank you, if it's different then I still need to get the 2010 edition. Does anyone know where I can get it for a decent price? Amazon.com is out except for $200 third party copies, and I couldn't find it anywhere else. Would really appreciate if someone could point me in the right direction. thanks!

Here's what I don't understand: the 2010 edition apparently has 2000 pages. Why is 2011 edition 1250 pages? Is it just an error on Amazon or is the book actually shorter? Did content get cut, or is it simply a different font size? Anyone knows?

Exactly. As Munger said (or was it Buffett?), in investing there is no extra point for difficulty. Simple and obvious can work just fine.

Thanks for posting, it's an interesting read!

I don't really like o.co as a name/brand, but maybe I just need some time to get used to it...

Actually, the graphics are rendered locally, so what is send over the network is usually pretty small, on the order of a few kb/s or maybe up to a few tens of kb/s. What matters most to gamers is usually latency (a low ping). Hardcore gamers can still use a lot of bandwidth because they spend hours and hours connected to the server, and many gaming sub-communities upload replays and game commentaries on youtube, but the gaming itself isn't anywhere near video when it comes to kb/s.

You make an excellent point, omagh. A hard market won't benefit all insurers equally, and the ones to buy now are not only the cheapest but also those that will be able to profit most from a turning cycle. I've already picked those that I think will do well, but I'm curious to know what others here think are the best bets. Maybe this deserves its own thread.

I haven't actually lived through (well, I was alive, but not paying attention) an insurance cycle going from soft to hard. What does it usually look like, and how long does it take before the insurers that are disciplined can take advantage of the hard cycle?

That's terrible, but I can't help but wonder if it could turn into a good buying opportunity (especially for WEB, who has billions to invest) if it's a fixable problem and there's not too much permanent damage to the brand..

Same here. I expect to be a buyer of shares for quite a while, so the more depressive Mr Market is, the better. ;D

I'm curious to know what you think of WRB and RLI, if you are familiar with them.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-09/berkshire-takes-2-25-billion-in-dividends-from-burlington.html Not bad at all ;D

I know many of you read and print the PDFs - which is what I've been doing so far - but if you want an official hard copy, where do you get it from? I'm kind of new to this, so I'm not sure what the best way is. Should I register with my discount broker in some way? Do you contact investor relations directly at the companies and ask for the reports? Or do you use some other third party site? I found http://www.prars.com/index.php Which seems pretty great, but I haven't received anything from it yet. Maybe there's a better one (that ships to Canada)? Another question: Is there any easy way to get hard copies of reports from past years? Thanks.

bsilly and crip? I'm very curious to know more about these people or sites that you are comparing in usefulness to this board. Care to elaborate?

I would go with the best business because I try to only invest in quality businesses (if the companies that I invest in then go buy some deep value stuff, that's fine because they are better investors than I am). I only buy stuff I wouldn't mind owning for 10 years or more.

Gurufocus has an overview of MKL: http://www.gurufocus.com/news.php?id=124999 No big insights. Most people here probably know all this. But if you are new to MKL, this might give you an idea of what they're doing.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/07/western-digital-drops-4-3-billion-to-acquire-hitachi-gst-enter/

I stopped reading after a little bit because I was getting the impression that she was just re-writing Buffett's annual letter. :-\

Wow. Where I am things aren't nearly as inflated as Vancouver, but it's still relatively high and I'm in no hurry to buy (renting money from the bank vs. renting an apartment/condo/house is how I think of it...).

I'm actually betting that the Canadian RE bubble will burst (or at least significantly deflate) in the next few years by staying a renter instead of buying.

Thanks! That sounds interesting.

It's in the annual letter on fairfax.ca