Elegant Defense

Our bodies are marvels. Perhaps no part of us is as remarkable as our immune systems. We have a built-in nano-army that learns on the fly and protects us from our constantly-invading environment. Elegant Defense, An: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System is a useful book describing the elements of our immune system, how we figured it out, and where we go from here.

Deck the HALL

• Over 50% discount to book value, as a result of terrible underwriting results in recent years.
• But under new management, earnings of over $14 million so far this year on market cap of $78 million.
• Insurance market continues to harden, as the company has implemented a 12% rate increase so far this year.

Read more...

Numbers Don't Lie

Prolific author Vaclav Smil is out with another book, Numbers Don't Lie: 71 Stories to Help Us Understand the Modern World.

London

I've become more interested in historical fiction lately, bringing me to my latest read: London: The Novel. Over a couple of thousand years, this city has gone from a backwater to one of the most important world capitals.

Karsan Value Funds: 2021 Q3 Results

Karsan Value Funds (KVF) is a value-oriented fund, as described here. Due to securities regulations, the fund is not open to the public at this time. Should that change in the future, there will be an announcement on this site.

Matterhorn

Matterhorn is one of the best books I've read in a while. It's a novel that puts you in the trenches of the Vietnam War.

New Home Buyout

Three years ago, I discussed The New Home Company as a potential value stock. Last week, the company announced that it has accepted a buyout offer.

Perdoceo Is One Of My Favourite Stocks

Perdoceo (NASDAQ:PRDO) is extremely cheap any way you look at it. The market cap is $820 million, but the company has a net cash position of $400 million, for an enterprise value of $420 million.Read more...

Karsan Value Funds: 2021 Q2 Results

Karsan Value Funds (KVF) is a value-oriented fund, as described here. Due to securities regulations, the fund is not open to the public at this time. Should that change in the future, there will be an announcement on this site.

Cosmos

Cosmos is one of those timeless books that remains relevant despite its age. This 1980 gem by Carl Sagan explores the universe and life.

Friedman Back in Favour

A few months ago, I wrote about Friedman Industries (FRD) as a reasonably profitable (over the years) company that was currently in disfavour. It was a net-net and traded for less than half of its tangible book value. In a shocking turn of events, Friedman now trades at a double-digit premium to book value!

Viacom

I recently purchased shares of media giant Viacom. They pretty much do everything from creating/licensing content to distributing it across cable and internet platforms. Rarely do I own shares in companies this large, because valuations tend to be high. But some market shenanigans have created an opportunity here, in my opinion.

Slaugherhouse-Five

Banned by several American schools in the 1960s, Slaughterhouse-Five is a World War II era novel that gives the reader a perspective on the bombing of Dresden. Having previously enjoyed a book by Kurt Vonnegut, I was excited about this one, which is perhaps why I was disappointed.

Franklin Wireless: Extremely Cheap, But Also Risky

Franklin Wireless (FKWL) is a small-cap that sells hardware and software needed for mobile hotspots, routers and other wireless applications. It has seen booming sales as of late, with 2020 revenue more than 100% higher than that of 2019. The latest quarter was even more impressive with revenue to December 31st, 2020 almost 5x that of December 31st, 2019.

As a result, the company has generated substantial amounts of cash. Cash balances have risen from $15 million one year ago to $76 million at the end of 2020. For a company with a market cap of just $150 million, this is a significant source of value for shareholders and downside protection. Read More...

The Last Day

When you look up at the moon, you're always looking at the same side of it, as the moon rotates on itself at the same rate at which it orbits Earth. It didn't always do that, but eventually its rotation speed slowed down to match its orbit. On the other hand, Earth rotates on its own axis every 24 hours. The Last Day: A Novel is about what could happen one day should the Earth's rotation slow down to match its orbit of the sun.

ADF Group Update

Shares of ADF Group (DRX.CA) are down some 20% over the last two days, thanks to a disappointing quarterly update, on a number of fronts:

Karsan Value Funds: 2021 Q1 Results

Karsan Value Funds (KVF) is a value-oriented fund, as described here. Due to securities regulations, the fund is not open to the public at this time. Should that change in the future, there will be an announcement on this site.

Galapagos

I'm not quite sure how to describe Galapagos: A Novel

Tightrope

There are some serious problems in the US. In no way is this better demonstrated than by this chart showing life expectancies of all the rich countries:

The US has diverged dramatically from its peers. Why this is not some national emergency that both political parties at all levels are highly focused on solving is a mystery to me. In Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope, the authors go into the causes and effects and some possible solutions to America's problems.

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster

Bill Gates needs no introduction. In his new book, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need, he discusses how we can get from 51 billion tons of carbon emitted down to zero by 2050.

A Man Called Ove

A Man Called Ove is an excellent novel about life. I hesitate to give any more info about it, because part of the enjoyment for me was not knowing what was coming next.

MBIA: Terrific Odds For Investors

MBIA Inc (MBI) has historically insured financial payments. This is a really terrible business model that I would normally avoid, but I've invested here specifically because of exceptional circumstances.Read more...

Bye, Orem

I am struggling to find good investment opportunities. As such, my cash levels have been rising, as I have continued to sell companies that have risen to levels that are near my estimates of their fair values. One recent example is Biorem, a stock I discussed as a potential value investment five years ago.

Three-Body Problem

Cixin Liu's novels have taken China by storm. I recently read an English translation of his most famous work, The Three-Body Problem, and it was pretty good!

Utopia for Realists

We have come very far as a civilization, across many measures of wealth and health. But despite our advances, there is a lot of neglect. What should we do differently so that our society is even better? In Utopia for Realists: How We Can Build the Ideal World, Rutger Bregman seeks to answer this question.

Resolute in Selling

As the market has run, I've been selling securities where I think margins of safety have gotten small. When Mr. Market throws caution to the wind is when I like to fortify my balance sheet to take advantage of any hurricanes that may eventually turn up. One of my recent sales is of Resolute Forest Products (RFP), which I discussed as an investment a couple of years ago.

Superior: The Return of Race Science

After the Nazi regime's racial experiments and genocide horrified the world, race-related sciences saw a massive slowdown. It was no longer politically okay to draw conclusions about races as a result of studies, as the world feared how that information would be used to justify bad behaviour. But those days appear to be over, as it is becoming more accepted in mainstream circles (e.g. US governments, during Republican administrations, have hired people who have professed to confirm that there are scientifically-sound racial differences with respect to various human attributes.) So I was curious; what does the cutting edge research say about the differences between us based on our races? Superior: The Return of Race Science examines this question.

The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels

Alex Epstein goes against the grain in his book The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels. He makes a case that we should be using more, not less, fossil fuels, and at the risk of turning you off, dear reader, I dare say he made some good arguments.

Manning & Napier: Ultra-Cheap With Lots Of Cash, But Shrinking

Manning & Napier (MN) owns 88.2% of an asset manager with a similar name. This fully-consolidated subsidiary offers wealth-management services along with mutual funds and other similar products to its customers. Read more...

Bonfire of the Vanities

In early 1980's New York, a few characters try to improve their lots in life. All are selfish and flawed; in other words, they are human. How something will make one look is what guides behaviour, rather than what is right. This is the closest to describing real life that I've ever seen in a book: Tom Wolfe's The Bonfire of the Vanities

Build Wealth with Common Stocks

David Waldron is a writer and investor who has managed to beat the market over a long period. In Build Wealth with Common Stocks, he shares his strategy with retail investors, allowing them to replicate his returns.

Karsan Value Funds: 2020 Q4 Results

Karsan Value Funds (KVF) is a value-oriented fund, as described here. Due to securities regulations, the fund is not open to the public at this time. Should that change in the future, there will be an announcement on this site.