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Archive for November, 2007

Berkshire Annual Letter 2001 (Part 2)

To understand Berkshire, it is necessary to understand how to evaluate an insurance company.

The key factors are:

  1. The amount of float that the company generates.
  2. Its cost.
  3. The long term outlook of both the above factors.

Usually, it is not the size or brand that determines whether an insurance company is profitably. What is important is whether the company adopts these three principles:

…Continue reading » Principles of Insurance Underwriting

What a CEO Really Wants

Another joke by Warren Buffett.

Though Enron has become the symbol for shareholder abuse, there is no shortage of egregious conduct elsewhere in corporate America.

One story I’ve heard illustrates the all-too-common attitude of managers toward owners: A gorgeous wman slinks up to a CEO at a partyand through moist lips purrs, “I’ll do anything – anything – you want. Just tell me what you would like.”

With no hesitation, he replies, “Reprice my options.

Berkshire Annual Letter 2001 (Part 1)

When Warren Buffett first setup his investment partnership on May, 1956, he gave his other founding partners a short paper called “The Ground Rules“.

One of the ground rules stated that their performance would be measured relative to the general market performance, rather than on an absolute level.

…Continue reading » A Few of Warren Buffett Ground Rules For Investors

The Results of Copying Warren Buffett

A soon-to-be released report of a study by Professor Gerald Martin of American University in Washington and Professor John Puthenpurackal of the University of Nevada has shown that investors would have earned close to twice the returns of the S&P 500 Index during the past three decades just by buying the same stocks that Warren Buffett did.

…Continue reading » The Results of Copying Warren Buffett

Updates of Berkshire’s Holdings

Here’s an update of the changes to Berkshire Hathaway’s holdings based on their latest 13F filing for the quarter ended 30th September 2007. Some of this would already have been known to you.

…Continue reading » Updates of Berkshire’s Holdings

Some people paid hundreds of thousands of dollars just to have lunch with Warren Buffett. Becky Quick of CNBC is one lucky lady. Recently, she had the good fortune to accompany Warren Buffett on a week long trip to China and South Korea.

…Continue reading » Becky Quick on Her Road Trip With Warren Buffett

Berkshire Annual Letter 2000 (Part 4)

In the annual letter to his shareholders in year 2001, Warren Buffett reminded us again not to believe everything we read in the press about Berkshire.

Reports with incorrect information can be very dangerous when circulated by highly regarded media.

Even Wall Street Journal reported incorrectly in the 29th Dec 2000 issue that Warren Buffett was buying bonds of both Conseco (NYSE: CNO) and Finova (OTC:FNVG) .

…Continue reading » Do Not Believe Everything Your Read About Warren Buffett

Bloomberg Got it Wrong on Gisele

Just yesterday, I wrote a post about supermodel Gisele Bundchen dumping the US dollar. The source of my news was from Bloomberg. Apparently, the news was not so accurate. Gisele Bunchen’s manager, Anne Nelson, has pointed out that the information was completely fabricated and untrue.

Oh well, even Bloomberg gets it wrong sometimes.

…Continue reading » Bloomberg Got it Wrong on Gisele

Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen has joined Warren Buffett and other billionaire investors in concluding that the US dollar is going to depreciate further. Patricia Bundchen, her twin sister and manager, said that contracts in Euros are more attractive. “We don’t know what will happen to the dollar.

…Continue reading » No More US Dollars For Supermodel Gisele Bundchen

Warren Buffett continues to speak out against the unfair tax treatment for high networth individuals. In an interview with Tom Brokaw on NBC Nightly News Monday night, he calls for higher taxes on very wealthy Americans.

…Continue reading » Warren Buffett Interview With Tom Brokaw