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Buffett to step down following six-decade run atop Berkshire

bloomberg.com

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Re: Buffett to step down following six-decade run atop Berkshire

#401

Post by robocat »

epolanski wrote: post #153
chrisco255 wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you balance the trade, it means reduced foreign ownership of U.S. assets, yes, which means ownership of U.S. assets by domestic citizens will increase. One of the primary problems with an unbalanced trade deficit is that your own inhabitants are left with less wealth over time, as assets are sold off to fund consumption.

Why would it even be desirable to have less foreign ownership of US assets? Like what is the sound logic here? As an Italian I would love more foreign ownership of Italian businesses, that would not only bring capital but more scrutiny.

> I would love more foreign ownership of Italian businesses, that would not only bring capital

Capital investments are like credit card spending, feels good for a while, but ultimately outwards-capital value should always exceed inwards-capital value (that's why somebody makes an investment).

Sometimes everybody is better off (the ideal founder story with VC investment) but all too often the investment money is stolen or misused (but the debt remains for the country to repay).

The 1MDB investments didn't help Malaysia:

  US investment bank Goldman Sachs helps 1MDB sell bonds worth $3.5bn... Goldman Sachs helps 1MDB raise a further $3bn in an additional bond sale, this time to cover “new strategic economic initiatives” between Malaysia and Abu Dhabi
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/7/28/timeline-how-malays...

Re: Buffett to step down following six-decade run atop Berkshire

#402

Post by sofixa »

danielmarkbruce wrote: post #384
sofixa wrote: post #369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm typing this on a Macbook Pro, which is made by Apple with their net profit margin of 24.3% for Q4 2024. BNSF, one of the companies which is the topic of this conversation, has an operating ratio of 68% for 2024 (how much of their revenue goes towards operational costs). Their net income was $5 billion. They can afford to have a little extra employees to cover fucking sick leave. > Get in the real world, not some…

Apple barely make the product. Look at the margins of all their suppliers. That fat line showing about $200b of cogs is filled with low margin businesses - the vast majority of the world is not some outlier like Apple. Gotta look more than one layer deep financial statement guy. People who actually read a lot of financial statements have looked at a looooot more than the ones of the names on TV.

The topic of this conversation is BNSF and their ilk, I just threw Apple as a fun "you're even more wrong with your anecdote than with your main statement".

What's your excuse for them abusing their employees? Why can't they afford to provide sick leave for their employees when not only do they have billions of net profit every year, many other railways around the world in the same type of business manage to do that and be profitable.

Re: Buffett to step down following six-decade run atop Berkshire

#403

Post by robocat »

dehrmann wrote: post #41
8f2ab37a-ed6c wrote: post #16

I always run across great quotes from Warren Buffett, but I never spent any time actually reading any of his writings or anything written about him. What's the best place to start to absorb some of his wisdom? Anything that's applicable to startups, tech, and life in general, beyond being the CEO of a holding company?

Not to diminish any of his accomplishments, but read his quotes and story as being a product of his time. He famously missed out on a lot of solid tech investments because of his background as a value investor. Value investing doesn't exist the same way it did when Berkshire started making a name for itself. Tech investing also isn't them same as 1997, 2004, or 2010.

> 1997

Yeah, looking at the NASDAQ from 1997 is a good reminder of everyone's selection bias. Saying Buffett missed out on the winners (with 20/20 hindsight) is forgetting that he also missed out on a lot of losers.

Here's some of the now lesser known NASDAQ tech stocks that were doing well in 1997:

  Dell (DELL)
  Compaq (CPQ)
  Gateway (GTW)
  Silicon Graphics (SGI)
  Hewlett-Packard (HWP)
  America Online (AOL)
  Yahoo (YHOO)
  Lycos (LCOS) 
  Excite (XCIT)
  Netscape (NSCP)
  3Com (COMS) 
  Bay Networks (BAY)
From: https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/tech-stocks-and-nasd...

And nobody ever went wrong by buying IBM

Re: Buffett to step down following six-decade run atop Berkshire

#404

Post by southernplaces7 »

DavidPiper wrote: post #307
WalterBright wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The US has been incredibly privileged. Free markets are a choice the US made. Any country can choose to have a free market, and some have. The reserve currency thing has nothing to do with it.

Your position that the country controlling the de facto global reserve currency isn't in a privileged economic position is very hard to understand. What would you say is the economic impact on a country of controlling a global reserve currency?

And pray tell, how did it become the de facto global trade currency? You believe the massive development of internal markets, free trade and relatively stable legal system that largely respects private property had little or nothing to do with this?

Re: Buffett to step down following six-decade run atop Berkshire

#405

Post by incomingpain »

Im predicting the stock market dies with him; or probably more accurately becomes far more chaotic and unstable with far higher profits for those who follow his rules.

Something that's happening in the markets is that nobody owns anything anymore. With the exception of elon and bezos. Most fortune 500s have no owner; they are all on low risk autopilot.

Re: Buffett to step down following six-decade run atop Berkshire

#406

Post by Aeolun »

FirmwareBurner wrote: post #277
Aeolun wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The million unchecked foreign men (and women) are presumably propping up the German economy as we speak. There will always be people that dislike change, but it may ultimately be better to start integrating them earlier rather than later. If you make it through the bad times (e.g. now), at the other end is the outcome you desire.

>The million unchecked foreign men (and women) are presumably propping up the German economy as we speak. How many of those unchecked are women? What's the point of having borders then? Or law enforcement putting criminals in jails, when they could be out there propping up the economy. As long as your illegal activities are putting money into the state coffers, you should be allowed to continue unchecked, screw the l…

> How does Poland's economy manage to grow faster than Germany's without illegal immigration?

They are having babies.

Re: Buffett to step down following six-decade run atop Berkshire

#407

Post by FirmwareBurner »

Aeolun wrote: post #406
FirmwareBurner wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The million unchecked foreign men (and women) are presumably propping up the German economy as we speak. How many of those unchecked are women? What's the point of having borders then? Or law enforcement putting criminals in jails, when they could be out there propping up the economy. As long as your illegal activities are putting money into the state coffers, you should be allowed to continue unchecked, screw the l…

> How does Poland's economy manage to grow faster than Germany's without illegal immigration? They are having babies.

>They are having babies.

Do you research things before you say them? A quick google search shows Polish fertility rate (1,26) is lower than Germany(1,46).

Re: Buffett to step down following six-decade run atop Berkshire

#408

Post by riehwvfbk »

newbie578 wrote: post #181
kinnth wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Buffet reminded me a lot of Angela Merkel. They stood clearly and simply for good moral judgment, fair systems and looked at the bigger picture to carry most people forward. They also based all their decision in facts, truth and science. They learn't their trades (economics & politics) over time and weren't afraid to adapt as times changed. Their slow and steady presence did more for equality and fairness than many o…

I cannot believe that there are people praising Merkel with a straight face. She is literally a laughing stock in Europe, I put her as the poster boy for immigration crisis together with the energy crisis. The only thing she did was shove problems further in the future not caring about the consequences.

I think you have a strange definition of "laughingstock". Germany went from an economic powerhouse of Europe to factory shutdowns and a bunch of bumbling sniveling elites who are afraid of the people they are leading and want to ban them from having a say.

Re: Buffett to step down following six-decade run atop Berkshire

#409

Post by tekknik »

sofixa wrote: post #369
danielmarkbruce wrote: post #368

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's called competition - it's the reason you get to sit there and type away on an incredible machine at a very low cost and eat food at a very low cost... The vast majority of businesses are operating on thin margins. Get in the real world, not some fantasy land.

I'm typing this on a Macbook Pro, which is made by Apple with their net profit margin of 24.3% for Q4 2024. BNSF, one of the companies which is the topic of this conversation, has an operating ratio of 68% for 2024 (how much of their revenue goes towards operational costs). Their net income was $5 billion. They can afford to have a little extra employees to cover fucking sick leave. > Get in the real world, not some…

Where do you get your data on BNSF? The data I have shows you’re off by a factor of near 5.

Re: Buffett to step down following six-decade run atop Berkshire

#410

Post by FeloniousHam »

TFYS wrote: post #372
danielmarkbruce wrote: post #368

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's called competition - it's the reason you get to sit there and type away on an incredible machine at a very low cost and eat food at a very low cost... The vast majority of businesses are operating on thin margins. Get in the real world, not some fantasy land.

Competition is not the reason. The reason is workers choosing to improve things, invent things and make things more efficient. Competition is a way to incentivize people to do that, but it's not the only way.

The evidence for (price) competition improving production efficiency and product fit is overwhelming, examples abound in everyday life, it's hardly worth mentioning.

What are some notable examples "workers choosing to improve things"?

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