An old friend of mine, Sath Dosanjh, turned me onto the management and investing prowess of Prem Watsa last year. Watsa and his team lead the Canadian insurance company Fairfax Financial Holdings. What makes Fairfax special is their truly exceptional long-term financial performance (20% growth in book value, 15% ROE, and similar share price gains [...]
This week, some random ramblings (from the subway) while I crunch through some analysis that I will share in the coming months. I was riding the subway in New York City one day and thinking about how efficient the system is. There are plenty of trains to get you just about anywhere in Manhattan, Brooklyn, [...]
A lot of people ask me what I think about the debt situation in Europe and the moves lawmakers are making to resolve it. I answer that I honestly don’t understand the details enough to comment but I do know that if they don’t come to a real resolution and Greece defaults or leaves the [...]
In late December I purchased Research in Motion after it had fallen over 75% in price in 2011. As with buying any investment that the rest of the world hates, it is hard. When it’s difficult to come by an agreeable opinion, you can’t help but question your judgement. I am constantly questioning myself on [...]
This is the time of year when we all love to forget about past mistakes, wipe the slate clean, and cross our fingers for better times next year. I hate betting on the future. Instead, let’s take a critical look back at 2011 through the lens of history and use this knowledge to set a [...]
Wow, it has been almost a month since I last posted to Pondering Infinity. Over this time I traveled to South America to visit friends and hike through Patagonia. Over these travels I was lucky enough to witness different cultures and ways of life and had time to ponder these and other thoughts. As a [...]
I was on a late train home earlier this week and the ad in front of me says “VIX is more than a fear gauge, it’s a RISK powertool.” The ad was ofcourse by the Chicago Board of Options Exchange (CBOE) who offer VIX futures and options to their trading clients. As someone who is [...]
Investors and retirees trying to live off the income from their portfolios are faced with the lowest yields seen on bonds in our lifetime (the chart below shows US 10yr bond yields over the past 50 years). It’s not just a US phenomenon, government bond yields around the developed world are hovering around 2% and [...]
This past weekend I was helping a friend buy his first racing bike. I took him to two local bike shops, one that offered mid-range bikes and a second that sold high-end bikes. He test rode 4 bikes from different manufacturers, made of different materials, and built using different components. In the end the decision [...]
In a post last week I talked about the power of disruptive technologies and how they can kill your margin of safety in an investment. This is especially important in valuing technology companies like Microsoft. Aside from the obvious technological obsolescence risks in this sector, there are three additional big risks that I think are important [...]
