Amazon on 60 Minutes

An interesting look at the various divisions of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, and flying drones:

http://youtu.be/gcXoj_UBXv8

Many are divided over the valuation of Amazon. Amazon bulls commonly add back part of the expenses from CAPEX to get an adjusted earnings.

 

Jeff Matthews on Carl Icahn & Ebay

Wow, nice post here about the recent headlines generated by Carl Icahn over EBay & Paypal

http://jeffmatthewsisnotmakingthisup.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/ebays-got-guy-who-helped-pioneer-world.html?m=1

Taleb & Warren Buffett

Being a fan of both Nassim Taleb and Warren Buffett I was pleasantly surprised when watching this interview.

I know Taleb has commented before that George Soros is a better investor than Warren Buffett. In my mind I thought the exact same thing mentioned by Jeff Matthews.

Link to video here:

http://youtu.be/PQsnrzSW6rA

By the way, Jeff Matthews has a good blog also:

http://jeffmatthewsisnotmakingthisup.blogspot.com.au/?m=1

Robert Schiller says don't write off Italy

Nice interview of Robert Schiller. 

In the last few minutes he talks about how he bet on an improvement in Italy for his personal portfolio: 

http://youtu.be/ABvtKGrIDUs

David Winters of Wintergreen Advisers: 2014 March

David Winters discusses opportunities around the world.

http://youtu.be/x6I1B3MaTms

Monaco documentary by Piers Morgan

Interesting, light hearted short documentary hosted by Piers Morgan about Monaco:

http://youtu.be/htA0mqYrCTE

P&C insurance combined ratio and ROE

An interesting graph showing relationship between P&C insurance combined ratio and their return on equity.

Think how this affects insurance company investment returns at: Berkshire, Markel, QBE 

What are their mix of investments: bonds vs equities?

Thoughts on 'Baby Berkshire'

Been watching this company for a little whole now. Good blog article here:

http://brooklyninvestor.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/markel-2013-annual-report.html?m=1

K2 - Content is king

Good read about content producers such as Fox and Disney

http://k2am.com/docs/content-is-king.pdf?utm_source=Trending+on+Livewire+%22The+Morning+Wire%22&utm_campaign=8679d72171-The_Morning_Wire_Test_15_07_2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1911ffeed5-8679d72171-71374805

Why large caps at this time?

Donald Yacktman explains why large large caps in this market looking like better opportunities vs smaller caps:

http://youtu.be/n3SmoR6YHFQ

Security analysis notes

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE EARNINGS RECORD

…It must be remembered that the automatic or normal economic forces militate against the indefinite continuance of a given trend…

…diminishing returns, etc., are powerful foes to unlimited expansion, and in smaller degree opposite elements may operate to check a continued decline. Hence instead of taking the maintenance of a favorable trend for granted—as the stock market is wont to do—the analyst must approach the matter with caution, seeking to determine the causes of the superior showing and to weigh the specific elements of strength in the company’s position against the general obstacles in the way of continued growth.

In particular here was an interesting line by Graham & Dodd about PE Ratio:

...As we shall point out in the next chapter, this assumed earning power may properly be capitalized more liberally when the prospects appear excellent than in the ordinary case, but we shall also suggest that the maximum multiplier be held to a conservative figure (say, 20, under the conditions of 1940) if the valuation reached is to be kept within strictly investment limits. On this basis, assuming that general business conditions in the current year are not unusually good, the earning power of Company A might be taken at $7 per share, and its investment value might be set as high as[…]