I also believe Wells Fargo is still selling at a 40% discount to intrinsic value, despite it’s recent increase of approx 15%. Bank of New York Mellon is selling at a 20% discount and so is Manulife Financial. As of now, speaking a foreign language is almost a skill that is an essential requisite for working as a New York real estate broker. There have been times throughout history when real estate has boomed and other times when it has remained somewhat stagnant. Countrywide will be a decent asset, but they have to deal with all the loans (mainly HELOCs) that they gave to people who can not and will not be able to pay it back. He said “tentative” signs of wage growth but actually having discipline and the mental toughness to stick with the strategy, even during bad periods i.e. periods of low-returns.

Even though ADRs do not represent direct ownership of the underlying shares, the certificate, transfer and settlement processes for ADRs are identical to those of U.S. Every time you sell a stock you are subject to taxes on the gain of that sale. There are also a number of listed investment companies and exchange traded funds which hold internalional shares and you can buy and sell these on the Australian Stock Exchange. Bcos their investment philosophy is completely different. So yes, paying down Mortgage debt as you approach retirement is a good idea, as it will significantly decrease your cash-flow needs in retirement, and provide you with a “safe” place to live and a relatively safe investment. Once the company can get it’s bad debts undercontrol it will start to earn very good profits again. Prem is considered the Canadian Warren Buffett and for good reason. The biggest reason I like Fairfax is the risk adverse nature of Prem Watsa. Under his leadership, Fairfax has grow book value at an amazing 26% annualized rate for the past 24 years.

In conclusion, if I were to go away and put all my money into one stock it would be Fairfax Financial. The bank or mortgage lender lends you the rest of the money to facilitate the purchase. Yet keeping your money in the stock market is risky as well which is why self-directed IRAs are becoming a more appealing option. I wondered why I am even attempting to manage my own money. This slowdown has become even more pronounced this past summer and fall. He has handly beaten the Oracle of Omaha’s invesment record over the past couple decades and he uses the same vehicle, insurance companies, to get the job done. Secondly, they also don’t understand the insurance and how investment returns can be huge if the float is handled by a value investor like Prem Watsa. Asset allocation is one of the most important decisions every investor needs to consider if they are to be successful, so maybe an opportunity to update my blog.