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Who wants pancakes?
Can she be cloned? In large numbers?
"Hey - I want my outfit back"
Game...Blouses!
"why didn't I think of this" Seriously, Kouwe? Are you a glutton for punishment? You continually make it so easy for us...
Game: Blouses.
Ah Bess, something about that devious little mind of yours. After reading through Dealbreaker, serious forays into WSJ are break down with images of Kenny boy as an alky, Lil Timmy Geithner needing a hug and of course Old Warren, clad only in a bathrobe shuffling up for an interview with Becky Quick, one hand mysteriously missing. Thanks!
The issue is really that the owners of capital(shareholders) are divorced from exercising power which in modern times is in the hands of Boards and institutions. Thus while the private owner would have major issues in paying the compensation we've come to expect, we cannot reasonably expect a board that has no ownership interest to police management. I still believe that in capitalism, those who lay out the equity should reap the rewards. The factory worker shouldn't get the same pay as Henry Ford
While I can't say I enjoyed the meltdown, I wonder if we'll ever see such cheap stocks again. Western Digital which I felt a steal at $20 was going for $10! Harry Winston Diamonds I valued at $5 was selling for $1! Even venerable GE a good deal at $20 was selling for $6. The weekened of March 1st I recall being mad that I didn't have a few million in loose cash. Blessed are those with dry powder
Ah Bess, gotta love your twisted take on old Warren. As an avowed Buffetologist I'm scared you'll read his annual letters and find such gems as the story of "Apassionata von Climax" :-) The article is interesting. When Buffett says he doesn't understand something it's not because the man is slow, but simply because he looks for businesses that are either monopolies or strong franchises. How do you differentiate pets.com, hotbot.com, go.com and google.com?
Maybe because I had so much fun landing on one (plus I'm sure it pissed of the Navy nuke types) but gotta love this cover http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM9vwbhF43Q
I mentioned last time that, indeed, ERIN BURNETT was in Dubai. Wondering whose c*ck she is sucking now...just saying.And she colored her hair lighter,too.
@ 19 There's an annual real property fair in Dubai starting today. Maybe she'll get one of those as gift..just saying. She likes this song "If I had a million dollar" which run a segment of her morning show.
I'm in Iraq, flying missions over Bdad and it's always refreshing to come back to Dealbreaker(and Bess' twisted slant on everything:-). It makes reading the WSJ alot more interesting. Thanks!
Bess, Whatever happened to the "First Portfolio" his march 3 market call seems almost omniscient now :-)
Bess, Whatever happened to the "First Portfolio" his march 3 market call seems almost omniscient now :-)
I like the assertion that Liddy stood tough to Geithner. But I'm going to be bold and make two (seemingly obvious) predictions 1. The bonus money will be paid back 2. Liddy won't last the month. I don't know what it was like to be a banker trying to foreclose on farms in 1932(a few got tarred and feathered, and they had dollar sales where the neighbors bought the farm for a dollar and gave it back to the families) but I think being a banker now is like being a dotcommer in fall 2001 trying for a new IPO.
From his 2008 annual report **** The second category of contracts involves various put options we have sold on four stock indices (the S&P 500 plus three foreign indices). These puts had original terms of either 15 or 20 years and were struck at the market. We have received premiums of $4.5 billion, and we recorded a liability at yearend of $4.6 billion. The puts in these contracts are exercisable only at their expiration dates, which occur between 2019 and 2027, and Berkshire will then need to make a payment only if the index in question is quoted at a level below that existing on the day that the put was written. Again, I believe these contracts, in aggregate, will be profitable and that we will, in addition, receive substantial income from our investment of the premiums we hold during the 15- or 20-year period. Two aspects of our derivative contracts are particularly important. First, in all cases we hold the money, which means that we have no counterparty risk. Second, accounting rules for our derivative contracts differ from those applying to our investment portfolio. In that portfolio, changes in value are applied to the net worth shown on Berkshire’s balance sheet, but do not affect earnings unless we sell (or write down) a holding. Changes in the value of a derivative contract, however, must be applied each quarter to earnings. ******* Disclosure I'm a huge admirer of Buffett. Even going back to his hedge fund days in the 50's he had the quality I believe is most important to an investor- the ability to ignore the maddening crowd. Time after time he was called an idiot or worse, during the recession in 1958, the downturn in 1960, getting out of the market in 1969 and 1987(though people changed their minds sharpish) and of course ignoring for the internet hoopla of the late 90's. I actually enjoy going back and reading the stories in Fortune and Time calling him a has been for ignoring such great opportunities as pets.com. In comparing the wisdom of Warren Buffett and Daniel Kudlec I think I'll stick to Warren http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101000515-44525,00.html Final thought in 1975 his portfolio had lost 33%, the washington post company had gone down 25% almost immediately after he bought ~11 million dollars worth. He managed to ignore the pollyannas of doom and that investment is now worth 1.7 billion dollars not counting the rich dividends over the years.
I'm confused, I'd expect dealbreaker of all places to be the bastion of capitalism. The question is who should set compensation policy, the workers or the owners of the business? As a strong believer in the tenets of a free market I think there are three points/questions that spring to mind: 1) No one is forced to work for anyone they don't want to. If you are the worlds top IB CEO, you are welcome indeed compelled to sell your talents as dearly as the market can handle. Just as you wouldn't take your skills to McD's why take them to a bank that pays poorly? Further I have to ask are the objections to capping compensation as concerned taxpayers or as future employees who worry they gravy train has left? 2) The banks aren't being forced to take the loan( ahem investments). If they can raise capital in the open market then by all means go for it. As a real estate investor, I'm not obliged to take the money of any bank, but when I do, I certainly expect provisions. Why should it be any different when it's taxpayer money? In her old blog Equity Private would point out that the first thing her company did after a takeover was fire employees and cut costs. 3) To those who say that lower pay will drive people away and that everyone goes to wall street for money. Holy crap the vast majority of people have jobs they loathe, working with people they despise and making a pittance. If the govt owned banks fail because the talent they get at 500K is mediocre well then those are the breaks of creative destruction. There are claims that 9000 banks failed during the great depression.
Probably own CFC debt, take out their economic interest in the stock, hope to kill the deal and push them into BK and make a nice recovery on the debt.