  Rusty Member Username: Rusty Post Number: 398 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 24.12.55.203 |
Well, this guy is said to know a bit about investing. I hope he's right. http://biz.yahoo.com/hftn/0605 26/052906_8378053.html | ||
Bibs Member Username: Bibs Post Number: 499 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 205.188.116.137 |
Perhaps, Buffet should give Thomas Friedman a call! | ||
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba Post Number: 3860 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 67.160.138.107 |
Warren Buffett, true American patriot. jjaba. | ||
Citylover Member Username: Citylover Post Number: 1613 Registered: 07-2004 Posted From: 4.229.132.171 |
I was in the company of a man named Charles Munger recently. I did not know who he was so I googled him.It turns out he is the Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway.Munger is about the 387th richest person in the U.S worth about 1.4 billion. He was in Ann Arbor and he attended UM about sixty years ago or so. For those that don't know Berkshire Hathaway is the investment firm run by Warren Buffet.I think there are two shares sold by B-H, the big share which one can buy for I think around 25,000$ and the little one that goes for several thousand. | ||
Motorcitymayor2026 Member Username: Motorcitymayor2026 Post Number: 871 Registered: 10-2005 Posted From: 24.231.189.137 |
citylover, where have you been?? HFD? | ||
East_detroit Member Username: East_detroit Post Number: 617 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 69.212.169.194 |
Warren Buffett knows economics. | ||
The_rock Member Username: The_rock Post Number: 1288 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 68.42.251.225 |
Does Warren know Jimmy? | ||
Bobj Member Username: Bobj Post Number: 729 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 68.40.89.238 |
How about Old China (Buffet) - I know its bad | ||
Track75 Member Username: Track75 Post Number: 2360 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 12.75.21.91 |
cl, you were with one of the top investors of all time. Munger is Buffett's right-hand-man. In the event of Buffett's untimely demise, Munger will take over Berkshire Hathaway. You were right about the two types of shares but the "big" one is at roughly $92,000 right now. The "little" one is 1/30th of that. Incidentially, Buffet is recognized for his lucid and honest annual reports. They explain clearly how his companies make their money and he is not afraid to admit his mistakes. Required reading for business types or those curious about how a company works from the mind of a great investor. He does a very good job in particular of explaining how his insurance companies work to the lay investor. Available online at http://www.berkshirehathaway.c om/ | ||
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba Post Number: 3864 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 67.160.138.107 |
Buffett is always quite pro-American. Does he own any factories or other foreign assets? His RC Willey Furniture/Appliance Stores in Salt Lake City and the West do very well. jjaba. | ||
Paulmcall Member Username: Paulmcall Post Number: 694 Registered: 05-2004 Posted From: 68.40.119.216 |
How many of us can afford a Caddy? If the other GM products were as well built, they wouldn't have so much trouble selling them. I'll be damned if I'm buying a car that's going to fall apart and cost me an arm and a leg plus have crummy gas mileage in the process. They've had over 30 years to solve their problems. It's frustrating to see so many folks lose their jobs in the process but I'm not going to support incompetence. | ||
7milekid Member Username: 7milekid Post Number: 64 Registered: 01-2006 Posted From: 68.41.222.28 |
mcall must be some kind of communist or something. either that or stuck in the 70's. I'll admit ive heard stories of the days before i was born during the nergy crisis when american cars were pieces of shit but they are just as good if not better than their asian counterparts now in the new millenium | ||
Hysteria Member Username: Hysteria Post Number: 302 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 152.163.100.8 |
I was about to say the same thing. | ||
Paulmcall Member Username: Paulmcall Post Number: 696 Registered: 05-2004 Posted From: 68.40.119.216 |
I'll have to say I have liked my '98 Neon except the air conditioning I haven't had for the last three years. It would have cost more than car was worth to get it fixed. I did get 122,000 miles out of it with just one major problem with an oil leak. Next car will be a Sonata. | ||
7milekid Member Username: 7milekid Post Number: 66 Registered: 01-2006 Posted From: 68.41.222.28 |
ha figures, gets 122,000 miles out of a $10,000 car and still not happy, maybe youd be happier moving over to where they make those hyundais and riding a bicycle or vespa! | ||
Pffft Member Username: Pffft Post Number: 993 Registered: 12-2003 Posted From: 71.144.86.59 |
McCall is classic, he's the guy who doesn't want to just come out and say I LOVE ASIAN CARS AND I SUPPORT JAPAN... He wants to blame somebody for his '70s-era view of American cars. How about GM, kicking boy of the year? There are plenty of American cars that fit your needs, Paul. Just be honest and say you don't care about supporting the American auto industry, even though the quality of their vehicles are as good or better. I agree they are way behind the loop on making enough cool, fuel efficient cars...they need to step up on fuel economy, big time... I drive a Pontiac Vibe that I adore and yes I know it's got a Toyota engine. I get 30 miles per gallon and it was more affordable than the Ford Escape hybrid. The other great option for a quality product with good gas mileage is the Ford Focus... As for the Vibe, it has XM radio, the passenger seat flattens out to a computer table where I can put my laptop, which I can plug into its own outlet. Yeah, the Sonata ..oooeeee I just salivate when I see one of those tin boxes coming. | ||
7milekid Member Username: 7milekid Post Number: 68 Registered: 01-2006 Posted From: 68.41.222.28 |
ha, yea great styling on that one | ||
Hysteria Member Username: Hysteria Post Number: 303 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 152.163.100.8 |
And sadly, Paul's opinion is shared by many Americans.  | ||
Angry_dad Member Username: Angry_dad Post Number: 58 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 64.12.116.204 |
I wonder how many still share Paul's attitude after putting out the engine fire of their Nissan or not being able to steer their Toyotas? I can see nothing wrong with forgiving Pearl Harbor but ask people to forgive the seventies generation of domestic vehicles and they act like it's beyond reason. No matter what "good" a Toyota is, it is here purely because the parent company pratices capitalist piracy. They really do not give two schnits about the market they exploit except for how much they can gain from it. And they will lie as much as needed to do so. | ||
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba Post Number: 3868 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 67.160.138.107 |
Please, back to Warren Buffet. jjaba, on the $150,000 Dexter bus. | ||
Antonyj11 Member Username: Antonyj11 Post Number: 61 Registered: 12-2004 Posted From: 167.219.0.140 |
GM Market Value: 15 Billion Berkshire Market Value: 141 Billion Maybe Buffett will buy GM? For all its problems, GM is still one of the largest corporations in the world and seems to have a very low market value. Could it be undervalued? | ||
Jiminnm Member Username: Jiminnm Post Number: 650 Registered: 02-2005 Posted From: 68.35.85.184 |
The article should have mentioned that Buffet sold his Lincoln to buy his new Caddy. So he owned American iron before this. | ||
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba Post Number: 3872 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 67.160.138.107 |
jjaba remembers when GM and Chevy did a joint venture. The original car design was called "Toylette." Later, out in Fremont, Calif. (NUMI plant) they built Chevy Novas and Toyota Carollas on the same line as the same car. Exact same car. Toyota outsold Chevy 6 to 1 in the US market for the very same car. It was a telling indicator of times to come. The American public thought Japanese was better, 30 yrs. ago. Crazy as hell, eh. jjaba, owner of two Olds Bravadas. | ||
Paulmcall Member Username: Paulmcall Post Number: 699 Registered: 05-2004 Posted From: 68.40.119.216 |
Sonatas are built in Alabama. Maybe some you like to throw away your money but I want reliability in my car. I have owned Toyotas, a Mercury Lynx, Renault Alliance, Suburu and a Neon. I'd get a Saturn Sky but it has no spare and no truck room. Sonata is the best deal out there. Almost all cars have foreign parts so the home grown theory is baloney. | ||
Motorcitymayor2026 Member Username: Motorcitymayor2026 Post Number: 894 Registered: 10-2005 Posted From: 70.226.44.119 |
I like the bumper sticker plastered to an electrical box on Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit: "Buy an American car, Save an American Job" A Sonota built in Alabama with the profits going overseas does little to help the US economy | ||
Angry_dad Member Username: Angry_dad Post Number: 59 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 205.188.116.137 |
Well your numbers about the California Nova/Corolla production are a bit off but the sentiment is close to the accepted. Key word "sentiment". Could it also be said that perceptions about cars are similar to what people "think" when they cross 8 mile? BTW, the average numbers for GM and Fords total production is about 80% US content. Honda is closing in at a little above 60%, Toyota close to 50% but they do tend to lie a lot about everything. Hyndai (or however you spell it) and Kia are brothers in production, their key operating officer is in the midst of being prosecuted for bribing political figures after embezzling millions. Say what you want about being a good consumer and the rest of that nonsense, no matter how that gets spun, chances are by buying GM and Ford (or DCX) you are going to support people you live with and may support you. In fact the odds are more than 7 times greater you will. It is is worth considering no matter how "good" a consumer to pretend to be. The BS about reliabilty is 99% bullshit these days. Idiots will always screw up a car. | ||
East_detroit Member Username: East_detroit Post Number: 621 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 69.212.169.194 |
Wasnt it Car & Driver or was it Consumers Reports that rated the Ford Escape lower than the Mazda Tribute? Hint: they are the same vehicle. People whining about the "ruins" of Detroit, while driving a Honda or Toyota over to Walmart... go figure. Jjaba, Eastside respect to you. | ||
Lowell Board Administrator Username: Lowell Post Number: 2678 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 66.167.210.191 |
The reason the Chevy Nova didn't sell in California, with it large hispanic population, was due to its name. En Español No va = it doesn't go or doesn't work. ... Or so the urban myth goes. | ||
Hysteria Member Username: Hysteria Post Number: 317 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 205.188.116.137 |
Yes, the translation is: 'it does not go' Poor California ... | ||
Huggybear Member Username: Huggybear Post Number: 220 Registered: 08-2005 Posted From: 69.212.122.137 |
Is that a rationalization or what? Looking at the list of cars you bought and projecting back when must have you bought them, it looks like you bought quite a few with virtually no domestic content. I'm guessing the reason is price. And I would predict that as soon as Geeley comes out with something cheaper, you'll be on that bandwagon, too, even if it was made entirely in China. Buying on price is totally ok - as long as you admit that it's your motivation. Calling on some domestic parts content is disingenuous, since a lot of Asian companies use Asian suppliers headquartered in - surprise - Asia. The parts may get U.S. country of origin designation because $7 an hour labor overwhelms material costs quickly, but the profits go elsewhere. This compounds the differences that exist in domestic parts content. It's not just automaker profits; it's everyone down the line. If you're from Michigan, buying from out of state is a clear dichotomy between consumerism and communitarianism in a way that it is not in any other state. | ||
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba Post Number: 3878 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 67.160.138.107 |
Huggybear, you are an excellent writer and your point is well-taken. Happy motoring. jjaba. | ||
Hysteria Member Username: Hysteria Post Number: 318 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 205.188.116.137 |
Yeah, jjaba. I had the same thought. | ||
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba Post Number: 3880 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 67.160.138.107 |
Although jjaba prefers not to threadjack, as a follow-up to "Buying Local" so eloquently explained by Huggybear, jjaba recalls the case of Louisiana crawfish. When you travel around that state, they take pride in telling you that local vs. imported crawfish is important. Evidently, Asians have entered that market and have cut the hell out of prices. They always talk about "safety". In many states, they tout their foods such as "Jersey Fresh" pounded to New Yorkers. You want a Kentucky horse, ofcourse. "Kalmazoo, Direct to you" was blasted at us 100 yrs. ago about stoves and furnaces. There's California wines, better than the imports. Since Airbus, Boeing has been touting the importance of buying local. And local to them means planes with contents from many states and ofcourse, off-shore too. Australia and Japan are big suppliers. Atleast in autos, we still have an American industry, unlike televisions which are all made elsewhere. Just for fun, go to Wal-Mart and ask for the American-made tv on the shelf. Try the same thing at Old Navy or the Gap. Oy, major league baseballs made offshore. jjaba, the socioloogy of commerce. | ||
Pffft Member Username: Pffft Post Number: 996 Registered: 12-2003 Posted From: 12.34.51.20 |
Oh, jjaba! Back on topic, as you counseled us above! | ||
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba Post Number: 3882 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 67.160.138.107 |
Pfft tells it like it tis. jjaba. | ||
Paulmcall Member Username: Paulmcall Post Number: 704 Registered: 05-2004 Posted From: 68.40.119.216 |
I think workers in Alabama might disagree. They pay taxes, buy goods and services locally and have jobs. You'd be real hard pressed to buy much of anything that is entirely US homegrown these days. You aren't making my car payments or repair bills so buzz off. | ||
_sj_ Member Username: _sj_ Post Number: 1386 Registered: 12-2003 Posted From: 69.220.230.150 |
Jjaba, you mean like Zenith or RCA? | ||
Pffft Member Username: Pffft Post Number: 997 Registered: 12-2003 Posted From: 12.34.51.20 |
Jjaba, no I'm kidding. I like the occasional digression, including yours. | ||
Goggo Member Username: Goggo Post Number: 182 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 64.136.49.226 |
'Nova' - 'no va' myth: http://www.snopes.com/business /misxlate/nova.asp | ||
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba Post Number: 3883 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 67.160.138.107 |
Goggo, thanks. Yes, 1985 Chevy Nova. The link was wonderful explanation of urban legend. no va. sj, name your brand. TVs are not made in USA. So tell jjaba, what % of that Warren Buffet Cadillac is outsourced, offshored, and not made in Detroit? Can he drive it off the line like the old days on Clark Street? jjaba's headline: "Very rich guy drives another Cadillac off the Line at Detroit's Poletown Plant into the sunset to Omaha." jjaba. | ||
Gannon Member Username: Gannon Post Number: 5856 Registered: 12-2003 Posted From: 70.236.198.22 |
Zenith is now owned by LG...a firm with the sole concern of getting people for forget their original name is Lucky Goldstar. RCA has been owned by Thomson of France for some time now. They seem to be heading away from the television business quickly...they didn't show a single TV item at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. The last TV tube and manufacturing plant that I am aware of was co-owned by Sony and Corning Glass on the site of another on-shore manufacturing endeavor gone astray--the old Volkswagen Rabbit plant in Westmoreland, PA. The tube manufacturing plant was simply amazing, like being at the door to hell...with the constant fire they had stoked to melt all that pure sand into crystal glass for our TeeVee pleasure. It was some sight to watch a dollop of molten glass become a phosphor-painted, electronic-connected, multi-layered tube that could scan a fine beam at over 33kHz...creating flickering images that we see as motion. I still think it is a modern miracle that we can even WATCH tv...or at least most of you can watch it. (ahem) They shipped it all to China a year or so ago, and had the guts to send the soon-to-be-laid-off employees over there to teach 'em how to run everything. | ||
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba Post Number: 3886 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 67.160.138.107 |
Gannon, where jjaba comes from, that's the definition of "Chutzpah", AKA unmitigated gall. Great tale. Great example of greed with a capital G. jjaba | ||
Huggybear Member Username: Huggybear Post Number: 221 Registered: 08-2005 Posted From: 69.212.122.137 |
Who cares about jobs in Alabama, much less ones that support only a hand-to-mouth economy? Jobs like that might as well be in Korea - because at a 1:1 ratio between layoffs in Michigan and jobs added in Alabama, the much lower wages cancel 2/3 of the value to the national economy of that one job. So instead of shopping at Hudson's, you now have workers shopping at Wal-Mart. That's the difference between a $75/hr package and a $25/hr one. Although I don't think that $75 an hour is realistic in the long term, the point is that this is a huge drop in disposable income. The issue is bigger when you consider that it's often two Big Three jobs lost for each one added. And bigger yet when you consider that you are putting people in old growth industrial states on the dole. This destroys established economies of scale and causes the abandonment of established, expensive infrastructure. It also means that we often have brownfields with no solvent owners (guess who gets to pay for the cleanups when that happens)? Shifting manufacturing southward is not a great use of resources. But wait? Did I mention that every one of those jobs costs those southern states between $65,000 and $125,000? Forget that those subsidies are transfer payments that don't add to the local economy and retard the repatriation of dollars held by transplant companies. The bottom line is that for two to three years, every one of those jobs is a net loser for even the southern state's economy. What people really don't seem to grasp is that there is no repatriation of money to Michigan. For example, when you buy something whose profits go out of country, that country has to do something with the dollars. Buy real estate, buy companies, build facilities. The theory is that countries with net trade surpluses have to spend their profits in the countries where they are collected (China may be the exception, holding $500b in U.S. cash - probably enough to manipulate inflation here - so maybe waiting for the right moment to wipe out our savings and sink our economy?). But even with the theory of repatriation at an international level, within the United States, there is nothing that says that dollars that leave Michigan will ever come back. Foreign countries and companies can spend the money wherever they want - and to the extent foreign companies have done anything with the money, it has been to build low-employment, low-wage plants in the rural South. Or to buy our companies. In the meantime, our state's residents are net exporters of federal tax money - which goes to propping up the southern states and allowing them to give these obnoxious subsidies in the first place. They ought to be worrying about disaster-preparedness instead. What a great system! So the denizens of our little banana (or sparkplug) republic should buy foreign products, export tens of thousands of dollars each, and put Michigan residents out of work because it helps (other) Americans. Last time I checked, no state was in as bad long-term shape as ours. Are you sure that the people on this forum aren't paying your Social Security, Medicare, etc? I don't know if you have a crappy, low-paying, no-benefit job - if you do, then the rest of us are providing what your employer is not. If that's the case, you have no leg to stand on in acting insular. | ||
Paulmcall Member Username: Paulmcall Post Number: 708 Registered: 05-2004 Posted From: 68.40.119.216 |
Thanks for the lesson Mr. Economics Professor. I have a pretty good job as a matter a fact. You don't pay for my social security since I have a government job pension system. My kids went to school here in Michigan but are going down south to get jobs. If the product is so good, people will buy it. I don't believe the Big Three deserve my business just because they are here. The problem with this state is it hasn't diversified and it has had plenty of time to do so. I've seen this same situation play out for over 30 years now and I get tired of the same old rhetoric. Unless you sit at home and make your own clothes and just about everything else you use, you will have to get things built in other countries. It's too bad that the Big 3 have had to play catch up for so long but that's their problem not mine. They screwed up and I don't have to support them because they happen to be the home team. I liken that to people who get season tickets to Lions games. If you want to support a loser ..go ahead but I won't throw good money after bad. | ||
Vas Member Username: Vas Post Number: 551 Registered: 01-2004 Posted From: 68.73.202.221 |
a wonderful story | ||
Angry_dad Member Username: Angry_dad Post Number: 60 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 64.12.116.204 |
Nobody has to support the home team. We have that choice. But sure is odd that the people sending us those cars don't get the "choice". No way to sugar coat, Japan Inc got strong by closing their border to not only products but investment too. Now we should believe everything they tell us? It's not simply the big three screwed up, they've been screwed over. By some people that work there, by a lot of bogus stories, and a concerted effort by producers that want to expolit a market they had nothing to do with building. | ||
Paulmcall Member Username: Paulmcall Post Number: 709 Registered: 05-2004 Posted From: 68.40.119.216 |
I'm not going to shed any tears for GM. They have living high off the hog for years. I agree that trade should be free. |
