107: What I'm Reading 11/10/23; Clearing Up Some Confusion

Highlights from this week's research / reading

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What I’m Reading

Embracing Boredom

This Macro Ops article suggests that in investing, patience often trumps frequent activity. Humans usually lean towards action, which can be detrimental in investments. Top investors excel by being discerning and betting only on high-potential opportunities. Timothy Wilson's research underlines our discomfort with inactivity, leading to premature actions in the market. The central advice is to make informed investments and then wait patiently, avoiding the urge to overtrade.

Time Traveling In Google Maps

I recently learned that you can “time travel” with Google Maps, going back in time to see what their cameras viewed of the same spot sometimes a decade or more in the past. Go to street view and in the upper right of the screen you’ll see something that says “see more dates”.

Buffett, The Educator Investor

Marketwatch put together a list of the 50 most influential investors. Buffett, of course, was high on the list. I provided some input/quotes for the article, which, given the history it covers, provides a good amount of detail in a relatively short amount of space.

Pilot Lawsuit

The selling family of Pilot Flying J, which Berkshire acquired in several steps and now owns a controlling interest, is suing Berkshire alleging it is using unfavorable accounting to determine the value of the remaining stake.

For starters, this is highly unusual to see a seller file suit against BRK. Berkshire has done several of these types of multi-stage acquisitions including Shaw in 2004, IMC (Iscar) beginning in 2006, and Marmon in 2008.

This lawsuit also makes me wonder when the tension started. Remember back to May when Berkshire installed BHE veteran, Adam Wright as CEO. I found it odd at the time since BRK usually keeps the current CEO. To me, this is an indication that the Haslams care more about money and just want out, but I could be wrong.

The lawsuit also spells out the purchase: 10x pre-tax earnings. The exact details are redacted in the public filing, apparently, but this is still an interesting peek behind the curtains.

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Clearing Up Some Confusion With Substack Pledges

I received an email from someone saying they were disappointed I was charging for my work here on Substack. To be clear, I’m only opening up the payments for those who wish to support this venture. They’ll receive the same content as every other Watchlist Substack subscriber. The only extra perk they’ll get is an invite to the Deep Dives Google Meetups.

Stay rational! —Adam

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