Welcome to the end of the week and another edition of Happy Hour! Just sit back, relax, and enjoy your end of the week roundup of all things interesting in the land of money.
BRK Annual Meeting
Omaha filled its tourist quota last weekend with the highly anticipated Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. It’s like a value investors theme park vacation with all the excitement and hoopla without roller coasters.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a BRK annual meeting without some Buffett and Munger highlights and general investing perspective. Out of all the information available, I came across three that summed it up the best. The first is a transcript of the Q&A session from Valuewalk. It’s worth the read just for the Munger quips. The second is a collection of takeaways and impressions from the meeting by other investors. The last is included below.
And finally, while there is always some investment knowledge to gain from this annual meeting every year, the information is very general. By that I mean, the advice may be great, it may even spark an “aha moment”, but it’s generally difficult to put into action. So take it for it is, entertainment with a side of learning.
Record Highs
We’ve seen Dow and S&P record highs recently and rhetoric of bubbles are increasing. Which seems typical after the past decade of market ups and downs. Everyone wants to be the one who calls “It”. Whatever “It” is. Right now “It” seems to be the next big market crash.
If we’ve learned anything since ’09, it’s that everyone has an opinion on the market. And more people are pulled out of the woodwork and tossed in front of a camera when records are broken.
Most all of them, are opining for personal gain. They’re either talking up their own holdings or attempting to stroke their ego. There must be a big need to slap an “I called It” on their résumé to wave in front of their clients. Maybe their overall performance over the years isn’t enough.
So get used it. We’re only going to hear more.
But it doesn’t mean we have to listen. The Big Picture sums it very well. Unless these forecasters have some analysis that makes sense to back up the talk, it’s just hot air. Follow at your own risk.
Last Call
- “We Want to Win”: The Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting, 2013 Edition – an insiders look at attending one the most anticipated annual meetings.
- How We Value Berkshire Hathaway – A good look at how Morningstar breaks down and values BRK by looking at each business unit.
- ‘I Like to Bet on Sure Things’: Warren Buffett On Why He’ll Never Sell a Share of Coke Stock – video with some great investing insights, particularly, a reason to study business failures.
- Are We Taking the Wrong Retirement Risks? – great way to look at retirement planning and finances in general – focus on your goals and build a plan around each.
- Bernanke, Blower of Bubbles? – actually a good opinion piece by Krugman about the state of stocks and bonds.