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    Is Buffett getting margin calls?

    Buffett states his liabilities in his shareholder letter and his view of the flaws inherhent in the Black Scholes model especially when pricing long dated options. Again Pp. 18-22. http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2008ltr.pdf Regarding the fact that Berkshire Hathaway does not...
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    Is Buffett getting margin calls?

    http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2008ltr.pdf Read page 18. To your point, high rated counterparties can negotiate contracts that do not require them to put up collateral, even when the mark is against them. Berkshire negotiated its contracts so that it does not have to post interim...
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    Is Buffett getting margin calls?

    http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2008ltr.pdf It is true nonetheless. AIG did not negotiate its contracts well to put it mildly, but Berkshire Hathaway used its AAA rating and negotiating clout upfront.
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    Is Buffett getting margin calls?

    My point is different. Unlike AIG, most of his contracts require zero collateral to be posted. Only a handful of contracts have a collateral agreement.
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    Is Buffett getting margin calls?

    http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2008ltr.pdf Only a small percentage of Berkshire Hathaway’s contracts require it to post collateral to counterparties when the value of the contract moves against Berkshire Hathaway. According to his 2008 shareholder letter (Pp. 18-22 if you follow...
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    Buffett, Tavakoli Flag Ponzi Scheme Bigger Than Madoff's

    http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=atSsZ5Fp8xuY&refer=home The Fed just got done pushing the mergers of ML/BAC and BS/JPM to "save the financial system" and now Volker (see link to Bloomberg article) urges common sense and says they should split. He's right of course. Not...
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    Buffett, Tavakoli Flag Ponzi Scheme Bigger Than Madoff's

    If we see backlash from John Q Public, it won't be pretty.
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    Buffett, Tavakoli Flag Ponzi Scheme Bigger Than Madoff's

    Buffett, Tavakoli Flag Ponzi Scheme Bigger Than Madoff's Bloomberg News - March 5, 2009 Interviewed by Yalman Onaranhttp://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a.OzozJQwrjQ# Bernard Madoff could face 20 years in jail if convicted of what prosecutors are calling the biggest Ponzi...
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    Recipe for Disaster: The Formula That Killed Wall Street

    This is the link to this weekend's FT article on her new book. I read the book; it's the best explanation I've read of the meltdown: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/caf27fa0-fedf-11dd-b19a-000077b07658.html Dear Mr Buffett Review by Paul J Davies Published: February 23 2009 04:58 | Last...
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    Recipe for Disaster: The Formula That Killed Wall Street

    As I responded in the other thread, Tavakoli has been a consistent critic of the models, but says that while the models were flawed, the key problem was malfeasance. Yep. Definitely a white hat with the evidence to prove it. Her book DEAR MR. BUFFETT gives dates and articles of her criticism...
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    copula, copulation, ah what' the difference?

    This is a review of her most recent book in this weekend's FT: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/caf27fa0-fedf-11dd-b19a-000077b07658.html Dear Mr Buffett Review by Paul J Davies Published: February 23 2009 04:58 | Last updated: February 23 2009 04:58 Dear Mr Buffett: What an Investor...
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    copula, copulation, ah what' the difference?

    Yep. Definitely a white hat with the evidence to prove it. Her book DEAR MR. BUFFETT gives dates and articles of her criticism going back to a presentation she gave to the IMF in April 2005 as the bubble started expanding. She said the ABS CDOs were overrated (an excerpted clip is on her...
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    copula, copulation, ah what' the difference?

    Tavakoli has been a consistent critic of the models, but says the overwhelming problem was malfeasance. Those who think a new model will completely fix this are misguided. More than that, in all of her books and articles, she has spoken out against fraud and she makes a strong case that the...
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    Soros Sees No Bottom For World Financial "Collapse"

    Great question, Libertad. Soros various, and there are references to some of his trades in these posts. Paulson is also various, but it was well-explained in Tavakoli's books that he shorted the credit derivatives index linked to securitizations backed primarily by second liens. She even...
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    Madoff Deserves Lots of Company

    Makes him look too folksy, similar to Buffett playing a ukelele. But he pulled it off by appealing to people whose sense of worth comes from feeling connected.
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    Soros Sees No Bottom For World Financial "Collapse"

    Let's ask her. Rogers's blurb is at the top of the book jacket back cover: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/be9fbf12-ffb9-11dd-b3f8-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1 Amazon UK...
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    no bank runs yet??

    http://traderfeed.blogspot.com/2009/02/featured-book-look-dear-mr-buffett-by.html The shareholders are running for the exits, not depositors under the $250 K cap (per person plus I believe another $250 per married couple on top of that for a total of $750K per married couple). This from...
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    BRK.B versus BRK.A wtf?

    It's a one way conversion. BRKA converts to 30 BRKB, not the other way around, but the gap is usually much narrower as you have observed. If one were up for a spin one could buy lots of 30 BRKB and short one BRKA for each lot of 30 BRKB. I'm not giving advice, just making an observation.
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    Madoff Deserves Lots of Company

    Get your "Smash Me" Bernie Doll http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hQXLrenDk8NTsjaMF5_C0qVxZhbQD96CQSG80 Then you might want to get a "Smash Me" O'Neal, Cayne...because according to this http://www.tavakolistructuredfinance.com/TSF11.html Madoff was a "piker."
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    SEEKING ALPHA: Breaking Down the Geithner Plan

    Geithner has been involved since day one, so I expected a better plan and less confusion such as that mentioned in today's WaPo: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/16/AR2009021601180.html?hpid=topnews But as always, Traden4Alpha, you make an excellent point.
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