Curious George

Berkshire Hathaway Credit Risk, Index Puts Are Overblown Worries

While I would agree with you that the market is overreacting to BRK's exposure - I am perplexed by what seems to be an inconsistent approach in your treatment of BRK and others who have been involved in the financial guarantor business. You have ripped MBIA, ABK and others a new one and been a contributor to their sensationalism (while being short their shares). They no doubt deserved scrutiny and much criticism for the mission creep and they are paying a heavy price. But, your logic about mark to market relevance for BRK appears the opposite of your treatment of the others. While Warren Buffet may have been a better underwriter of risk, the reality is that on an MTM basis he has made a serious investment mistake. He should be treated the same way that the others were by Moody's et al. (Assuming Moody's is independent enough to view their largest shareholder with an independent eye.)

I am a big WB fan and I believe he will make money from his decisions. But, let's be consistent in our treatment. Good luck navigating this storm.

Premier Exhibitions: Value Not Without Controversy

Two other questions on JOE: is the Panama City airport plan moving along as originally envisioned? That seems to be a critical component to helping them realize max value on their land holdings over a 10 year horizon.

Second question: Now that JOE is restructuring to move to a pure equity capital structure, do you expect them to remove pressure to create consistent cashflows via land sales of timberland assets regardless of market conditions? Without the need to create cashflow to cover interest payments, you would think they would pull back on that.

Thanks,
LBR

Premier Exhibitions: Value Not Without Controversy

Who is Clyde Milton? Deep value sleuth extraordinaire? PT Barnum like promoter of companies with questionable ethics? Mythical Ayn Rand concoction who is the saviour of the investment world? Who is Clyde Milton?

Seriously, well balanced primer on PRXI. Will do more research on this. Nice call on JOE, by the way. Do you know if Einhorn covered his "swamp-land" short, or did he ride it all the way back up to the mid-40's from the mid-20's? What is the implied EV per acre on Joe now? I like their recent moves to go to a pure land trust holding company and stop with all the expensive proprietary development, but it appears to be fair value territory at the moment.

Cheers
LBR