Money and Finance

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Larry Page Talks Alphabet, Warren Buffett and Project Loon at Fortune Global Forum 2015 (video) [H/T Linc] (LINK)

Howard Buffett Is Getting His Hands Dirty [H/T Linc] (LINK)

Related book: 40 Chances

The Light-Beam Rider - by Walter Isaacson (LINK)

Related book: Einstein: His Life and Universe

Amazon Killed the Bookstore. So It’s Opening a Bookstore (LINK)

Sam Altman: The Tech Bust of 2015 (LINK)

So where is the problem? Late-stage private valuations. But perhaps the answer is that these “investments” aren’t really equity—they’re much more like debt. [1] I saw terms recently that had a 2x liquidation preference (i.e. the investors got the first 2x their money out of the company when it exited) and a 3x liquidation cap (i.e. after they made 3x their money, they didn’t get any more of the proceeds).

This is hardly an equity instrument at all. [2] The example here is an extreme case, but not wildly so. Investors are buying debt but dressing it up close enough to equity to maintain their venture capital fund exemption status. In a world of 0 percent interest rates, people become pretty focused on finding new sources for fixed income.

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Grant's 2015 Christmas Vacation Issue (LINK) 2011 Video: Warren Buffett and Ajit Jain Answer Questions From MBA Class [H/T GuruFocus and Linc] (LINK) The Sagan Series [H/T @cullenroche] (LINK) A Conversation With Michael Lewis About How The Big Short...

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ZUCK'S NOT ALONE: HERE ARE LETTERS WRITTEN BY OTHER MOGULS TO THEIR KIDS [H/T Linc] (LINK) Nice write-ups on the 3G Culture [H/T Linc] (Part 1, Part 2) Related book: DREAM BIGBottom Keeps Falling for Energy-Debt Investors (LINK) Elon Musk:...

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Shane Parrish talks to Jason Zweig in the latest The Knowledge Project podcast (LINK) Related book: The Devil’s Financial DictionaryRationally Speaking podcast with Phil Tetlock [H/T @jasonzweigwsj] (LINK) Related book: Superforecasting:...

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Munger residents praise unique living environment [H/T Linc] (LINK) Are Buybacks an Oasis or a Mirage? (LINK) Key Points 1. In 2014, the S&P 500 Index’s dividend (1.9%) + buyback (2.9%) yield = 4.8%, but this yield was not realized by investors. 2....

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Warren Buffett on CNBC... Links to videos: Warren Buffett: Bought IBM in 1st & 3rd quarter Warren Buffett: Never go below $20B cash Warren Buffett talks Phillips 66 stake Buffett: BofA's Moynihan should be CEO & Chair Warren...

Money and Finance