This BBC special on Buffett has good and bad moments, but the Don Graham interview is a must-see. This is a man who has been around Buffett for decades. His description of how (and why) Berkshire is so different from the “average American business” is one of the best compliments Mr. Buffett could get. Not a bad goal at all for any business owner or manager.
Dave Sokol of Bekshire Hathaway’s subsidiary MidAmerican has been taking on additional responsibilities (NetJets), but most tellingly, he’s getting more and more media exposure as well. Looking more and more like the CEO successor to Warren Buffett.
The first 4-5 pages in GMO’s Q3 2009 letter are entertaining for their irony, but it’s hard to disagree with Mr. Grantham’s conclusion: concentrate your portfolio in quality U.S. stocks with a global earnings mix. We’d extend that to some non-US quality stocks with diversified earnings sources, of course.
Looking at the world’s largest remittance players, it’s perhaps useful to use Moneygram – smaller, under-covered and nearly-bankrupt – to better understand Western Union.
In these excerpts of our Q3 2008 report, we discuss our use of the tried and true “roadmap” that our investment philosophy provides during even such periods of turmoil. In a nutshell, “In extreme situations, it makes all the difference to have very clear principles coupled with a simple, hands-on philosophy executed with discipline.”
Short comments on Global Beverages motivated by the Femsa beer unit sale talks and (much earlier) the Kraft/ Cadbury imbroglio. Beer and soft drinks make sense together, as does beer + soft drinks and food.
The merger between Odontoprev and Bradesco Dental highlights the advantage of looking at industries and companies globally. The game is NOT about being the best “brazilian” investor you can be. It’s about being the best investor you can be. There’s a world of difference between the two propositions (pun intended).
David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital is a fixture of the NY Value Investing Congress – and it’s always useful to take some time to read his thoughts.
Quite specific examples of the levers that move SAP, Oracle and Microsoft – also applicable to Totvs. The bottom line: bargain while you can. Very interesting to illustrate the power of maintenance in the software business.
The Value Investing Congress is taking place in NYC and here’s the Twitter feed. This is a quick post with some highlights of what went on in the first day. We have attended the VIC in other occasions, but not this year. If you’re ever in NY during this time of the year, it’s worth a shot.
