The Week’s Best At VIN

Forbes rankings are still topped by Business leaders even when hedge fund managers are earning mind boggling amounts of money. This article examines why that may be the case with help from an analysis done at Financial Times

Tonight I got to see A Conversation with Charlie Munger at Caltech in Pasadena. I took some notes on the discussion below. C refers to Charlie Munger speaking, while T stands for Tom Tombrello, the interviewer. These are not their exact words.

Buffett has pulled it off again. He’s made a creative, favorable bet that may pay off handsomely for long-term Berkshire shareholders. Over the past year, Berkshire Hathaway sold put options on the S&P 500 and three foreign indices. These options have a potential profit of over $36 billion.

Read Chapter 5 of Bud Labitan’s book, The Four Filters: What I learned from the Invention of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger. This short read examines the invention that Buffett and Munger created to guide their investment decisions.

Marvel Entertainment runs an attractive business, licensing it’s stable of superhero characters for use in movies, TV, video games, and general merchandise. It’s position on the Magic Formula indicates it’s attractiveness as a value play. But can the company succeed in it’s new venture as a movie studio?

“I’ve reluctantly discarded the notion of my continuing to manage the portfolio after my death,” he wrote, “abandoning my hope to give new meaning to the term ‘thinking outside the box’.”

“Volatility equates to opportunity and not risk,” said Bruce Berkowitz, one of the fund’s FAIRX three managers. “Risk is the chance for a permanent loss. This is the kind of environment that Warren Buffett has been patiently awaiting for many years.”

The news that Warren Buffett is now the world’s richest man led to the predictable round of stories about his frugal habits – the cherry Coke, the well-done steaks and the bungalow in Omaha that has been home for 50 years. There is a point here. Like Bill Gates, whom he has toppled from the top spot, Mr Buffett is primarily interested in the business rather than the wealth that results.

If Jim Rogers, CEO of Rogers Holdings, woke up as Ben Bernanke, he’d quit and close up the Federal Reserve for providing ‘socialism for the rich’.

My approach to investing has fit the philosophy, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, but teach a man how to fish and you feed him for life.”

Today, I’ll make an exception and outline my analysis for Ternium Steel, one of the most profitable steel companies in the world.

A review of business efficiency statistics, how to calculate them, what’s “good” or “bad”, and examples that beginners can understand.

Context

A select band of great professional investors have shown that it is possible to beat the market averages consistently over long periods. They act as an inspiration and example to less experienced investors. Their methods can also act as a starting point for beginners seeking to familiarize themselves with the basics of growth or value investment.

Contents

1. Warren Buffett

What makes See’s Candy a cash-generating machine, and commentary on last week’s letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders.

Ever since its release, much has been written whether or not Joel Greenblatt’s “Magic Formula” works. Joel Greenblatt has consistently said that results should be measured over time and every once in a while there would be stretches where the magic formula does not work.

Joe Ponzio’s F Wall Street Blog just announced a great new feature. You can now generate company specific RSS feeds for SEC filings using the F Wall Street Blog’s RSS Feeds for EDGAR Filings generator.

Perini is a construction company and the stock has been crushed because of that. But with half the share price in cash and continued strength in key sectors like gambling and government spending, should the stock be so low?

Perini is a construction company and the stock has been crushed because of that. But with half the share price in cash and continued strength in key sectors like gambling and government spending, should the stock be so low?

EMCOR might be a boring business, but with a soaring backlog and generous cash flows it shouldn’t be trading for a single-digit earnings multiple.