Warren Buffett’s Freudian Slip This land is your landThis land is my(?) landFrom California to the New York islandFrom the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream watersThis land was made for you (and me?). –Lyrics, “This Land is Your Land”; Woody Guthrie (tweaked by Ross Kaplan) The first time I read “Pretty Good for...Read More
What’s Wrong With This Picture? You don’t know who’s swimming naked until the tide runs out. –Warren Buffett So, what’s wrong with this Minnetonka home (pictured above)? That is, besides that fact that the front (and most important) photo on MLS looks like the home is stuck in a winter time warp, and it’s now...Read More
Is it “Always a Good Time to Buy?” Never ask a barber if you need a haircut. –anonymous Barber’s corollary: never waste time on someone who isn’t sure they need a haircut. –Ross Kaplan So, The New York Times ran a piece last week basically saying that — surprise, surprise — Realtors always think “now”...Read More
Still Casting Stones . . . But Now With (Lots of) Caveats An economist is an expert who will know tomorrow why the things he predicted yesterday didn’t happen today. “Laurence J. Peter [Editor’s note: to see my rebuttal to Freakonomics, the predecessor to SuperFreakonomics, click here] So, I finally finished off the (surprisingly short)...Read More
Warren Buffett’s 2009 Annual Letter Investors who expect Berkshire Hathaway’s future performance to match its historic returns are guaranteed to be disappointed. So who is the author of the above quote (paraphrase actually)? Some money manager or securities analyst trying to making their “bones” with a rare “sell” call on Berkshire Hathaway? (Full disclosure: Berkshire...Read More
“Basically, It’s Over: A Parable About How One Nation Came to Financial Ruin.” –Charles Munger; Slate (2/19/2010) “The Fat Lady Has Sung.” –Thomas L. Friedman; The New York Times (2/20/2010) Anyone else note the eerily similar notes struck by Thomas Friedman and Charles Munger? If you didn’t know, Munger is Warren Buffett’s long-time right-hand man...Read More
