Markel’s annual report was released and it’s a pretty good read. For fans of Berkshire Hathaway, this is a company that is following a similar model; insurance company with emphasis on underwriting profits instead of premium growth, investing float unconventionally (more equities than most insurance companies) and is even starting to invest in operating businesses…
JPM Investor Day
So J.P. Morgan had their investor day yesterday and Dimon was pretty optimistic about J.P. Morgan and even the economy (I wasn’t there). He does see a lot of businesses so has a good feel for what’s actually going on in the economy than economists that just sit around inputting data they get from the…
I Am Out
I don’t mean to make this a trading journal or stock buy/sell recommendation site, but I thought I’d mention that I am a bit less enthusiastic about AAPL now as the world seems to be quickly agreeing with the bullish views. I never intended AAPL for me to be a long term investment as it…
Cracker Barrel / Biglari Holdings
To continue the story, Biglari Holdings (BH) bought 1.05 million more Cracker Barrel (CBRL) shares in January for $54 million. So that sort of changes the composition of the balance sheet. At the end of December 2011, BH had cash and investments of: Cash: $115 million Investments: $119 million So the above transactions changes that to:…
GSVC Update
So I noticed that GSVC is down 20% into the $15 range as they priced the follow-on offering at $15.00/share. The stock is trading now around $15.80/share, down from $19.50 yesterday. Why did they price this so low below the closing price? The registration statement had an assumed price of $18.75 or something like that,…
Biglari Holdings: Real Deal or Phony?
Biglari Holdings (BH) is a Berkshire Hathaway like investment vehicle run by a young manager named Sardar Biglari. Actually, BH is what was Steak ‘n Shake (SNS), a hamburger restaurant chain that Biglari’s hedge fund owned. After a bunch of transactions which merged the hedge funds with Steak and Shake and another restaurant chain, Western Sizzlin, SNS was…
Gold Standard?
I already wrote about what I think about gold here and here and that’s actually more than I want to say about it, but since there is more talk again about going back to the gold standard, I thought I’d make a couple of quick comments. I actually don’t care too much about this topic as I…
So What is Facebook Actually Worth?
So like everyone else in the financial world (OK, maybe not) I went through the Facebook S-1. I don’t normally look at these internet/technology businesses especially when it is really hyped and there is no chance that this thing will come out undervalued. But I do think Facebook is an exceptional company so I decided…
Is Amazon a Short?
I hate to post a short idea on a day when the stock is down almost 10%; it’s a bad time to sell or short something down a lot on short term news (earnings announcement). But this is something I haven’t looked at in a while so I decided to take a look (I actually…
Nintendo for Free?!
I haven’t really followed Nintendo over the years as I really don’t like businesses that are dependent on recurring hit products. That is my reservation with Apple, too, but at least Apple is a bit more broadbased than Nintendo (Nintendo is just a game whereas the Apple has laptops, desktops, phones and iPads that function…






