Dave Shafer

What's Berkshire Hathaway's Expected Life?

Really, and you sit on the board that will be making that decision?.....
Thought not....

Buffett's Holdings Outperforming in Q4

Funny, how the book value of BRK is at a all-time high! One would think over the long run that intrinsic value would be represented by the stock price [at least that is how it has worked in the past].

That market drop that some folks are expecting will have little effect on the cash flow Berkshire is throwing off, only add more opportunities for Buffett to invest in!

Another couple of years of opportunities for Buffett to exploit is a great thing for us Berkshire holders!

We win either way!

Buffett and the Forever Fund

It's really pretty simple. Buffett saw a well managed business, still throwing off cash flow in a recession, with a huge moat, and a huge upside if trends continue. You may disagree with the upside potential, although Buffett has been much more right than you about these things.
He traded cash and a little debt for which he ultimately gets for free from the float for a large cash flowing asset.

7 Dividend Stocks to Prove Buy-and-Hold Isn't Dead

With all due respect, those buy-and-hold is dead headlines are really referring to buy-and-hold mutual fund investing, which I agree should be dead. Ironic, that you use a quote from a mutual fund buy-and-hold shrill [Zweig] for this excellent post.

The question is how many companies one person who is not in the finance business can really follow close enough to keep track of? For me it is less than 10. In reality, I think diversification is over rated, but I realize it gives folks a modicum of respite from the stress of equity variance. For me, I go with Bufett's thinking that why would you want to invest in your 25th best company instead of your 1st.

Berkshire Hathaway Posts Q3 Results: Book Value at Record High

Ravi,

Nice article as usual. Perhaps you could speak to its cash flow machine [insurance] and how Buffett has used it to over the last couple of years to set the company up for the future. IMHO, much is made of the investments and the derivatives, but the real action is the companies he buys and the deals he makes.

What do you make of the premium he is paying for BNI? Did he need to offer this to get the deal done?

Property Values Set to Fall 43% from Current Depressed Levels

Funny, my property taxes on a 3/2 cement block house, one block from Tampa Bay is $1300.


On Nov 04 08:41 PM 437339 wrote:

> RE
> The property taxes are one of the MAJOR reasons for the foreclosure
> rates . In Florida , the property taxes on a double wide mobile home
> on a piece of land = $ 2000 . No wonder 36 % of Florida's population
> lives below the poverty Rate . add to this the 30 Cents/gallon gasoline
> tax + sky high electric bills , you have disaster . What are the
> locals doing there now ? Raising property taxes .local , state +
> federal government retiree pensions must be cut . These folks work
> 4-5 hours/day max . Need much less of them !

Are We Becoming a Nation of Renters? Investing for the New Housing Dynamic

Where did you get that 80% figure? That is 2 to 3 times the national average. You also forget that real estate is local and therefore those areas you mentioned have large amounts of single family inventory.
Your suggestion of renting is actually a pretty good one for the 75+ crowd, as they are not able to keep up with the maintenance requirements and don't need the sizes of the average single family home.
There is another trend you missed which is for retirees to move into CCRCs which are campuses which have the full range of senior housing from apartments/condos to assisted living to nursing homes. You pay an entrance fee and then a fixed monthly amount. Health Care REITs are the best bet for investing in these facilities [see HCN].

I wouldn't invest in apartment REITs until it is clear what direction real estate is going long term. Homeownership rates are still above long term averages, even though they have dropped 3 percentage points over the last couple years.

Riding the Rails: Why BNI Was Berkshire's Best Bet - And Vintage Buffett

Interesting article, even more interesting comments. Some people just don't get what Buffett does, but that's alright because there are many ways to make money. As an owner of B shares of BRK, I am thrilled with the purchase and see it as further proof why Buffett has outperformed everybody else for the last 40+ years.

The March Rally May Indeed Have Legs

DinNYC,

Amen.

The Intrinsic Value of Nothing, Part 1

Thanks Skjellifetti for clarifying the original straw man argument this poster argues from. It seems that Austrian economics posers feel the need to either unintentionally or intentionally mischaracterize classical econ.

Why Apple Is Worth $80

I love Apple products. I had Apple on my buy list last year, but didn't pull the trigger [ouch]. However, the point the author is trying to make is accurate. For value investors Apple is not a buy now. Just too high a valuation compared to its current profits and possible future growth rates. Will it go higher? Yes, probably in the short term as speculators climb on board. Will it be able to maintain the growth rate it needs to maintain the high valuations? Rationally, no. To buy Apple now is not a value investors play, its that simple. Now for the speculators.........

Book Review: The Bogleheads' Guide to Retirement Planning

And what would you tell the "average" investor who retired in this decade or is soon to be retired? Their retirement income is severely curtailed because of the lost decade in stock investing and their bond investments are artificially inflated because of the Fed's interest rate policy. No passive investing in stocks and bonds is crazy unless you are willing to put in the work to understand it.

Money Supply: The Myth of Hyperinflation

Now we know where all the DOW 2500 folks ended up, spouting economic theory!

Six Things to Learn from the Financial Crisis

I have a little different perspective on diversification that works for me. You make the assumption that an investor would hold a stock as it tumbled downward [AIG, BAC]. That is really the strategy of "well diversified" investors, not investors focused on a few businesses to invest in, as Warren Buffett suggests. No single person can keep up with 25 to 35 stocks unless that is all they do. Instead I concentrate on a couple of stocks, focus like a laser beam on their financials' and their business strategies. If I see weakness, then I sell. I always have a list of 3-5 possible replacements that I can spend some time taking a closer look at before making my decision on the replacement to the stock I sold.
When I get to the place that I can't or don't want to focus on stocks, then I will get out altogether. Passive investing in the stock market, whether it is by mutual fund ownership or by diversifying beyond your ability to keep up with each business, is foolish IMHO.

Just another way of investing that has given me good returns over the last 12 years I have applied it! The balance of your post was very useful as a reminder of my investing roots.

Warren Buffett and Brett Favre's Big Mistake

@TonyCinTX

Couldn't have said it better. No worries here.