The “this time is different” calls are nothing new. It happened in the late ’20s and again in the late ’90s. Another such time was around 1960 and Ben Graham offered a brilliant take on the viewpoint.

At the time, most people thought the business world was “radically different and more favorable than that of the past.” Stock valuations were higher and many believed higher multiples were warranted going forward.

During a talk at UCLA, Graham addressed whether “this time is different” or if it was just a typical bull market: Continue Reading…

During the Berkshire annual meeting, both Buffett and Munger had great things to say about Jeff Bezos. I highlighted some their comments earlier this week. At one point, Buffett recommended watching an interview Bezos did with Charlie Rose late last year.

It’s a good interview that fits with what Buffett and Munger discussed during the meeting. Bezos’s ideas around Amazon’s customer-centric view and long-term perspective fit with their philosophy: Continue Reading…

The current market valuation is expensive by historical standards. Some say it’s overvalued but others don’t.

If you’re lean on the side of expensive, a question worth asking is what would make our current high market valuation “not expensive”?

Jeremy Grantham asks the same question in the latest GMO letter. He has some decent answers worth thinking about: Continue Reading…