Once again, I’ve been very pleased with the earnings and outlook reported by the majority of the companies we own. A few of our core holdings held their conference calls this morning so I wanted to provide a quick update. CF Industries (CF) & Terra Nitrogen (TNH) CF is our largest “Growth” holding and TNH…
Should I Be Bothered by Drops in the Stock Market?
It all depends. As a long-term investor, which most people are, you shouldn’t necessarily worry about short-term volatility. The best long-term investments come with the baggage of short-term volatility, that’s just the way it is. This is where proper diversification and strategies like allocating “buckets” of money for retirement spending come into play so one…
What China’s Currency Devaluation Means for Markets
Risk assets across the board are trading lower today after China devalued their currency, the renminbi (or “yuan” as it’s referred to in international context), overnight by 1.9%. China currently maintains a peg to the US dollar in order to keep the exchange rate in a very tight band. They do this by intervening each…
The Merger & Acquisition (M&A) Train Keeps on Rolling…
This morning it was announced that another company we own is being taken over: Precision Castparts (PCP) is being bought by Berkshire Hathaway (Warren Buffett) in a ~$37 billion deal. Shareholders will be paid $235/share (a 21% premium to Friday’s closing price) in cash when the deal closes in the first quarter of 2016. PCP…
How to Find the Best Long Term Investments
I’m just about finished with an absolutely fantastic book by William Thorndike called The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEO’s and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success. I highly recommend this book to anyone that runs their own company, manages people at work or makes investment decisions in stocks (for themselves or others). I often say that…