Links

"The great personal fortunes in this country weren't built on a portfolio of 50 companies. They were built by someone who identified one wonderful business." -Warren Buffett

Prem Watsa's 2017 letter to shareholders (released a couple of weeks ago) [H/T ValueWalk] (LINK)

What Protects Us From Exploitation? - by Russ Roberts (LINK)

Brian Grazer: "A Career in Curiosity" | Talks at Google (LINK)

Related book: A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life

The Blind Fish That Should Have Diabetes, But Somehow Doesn't - by Ed Yong (LINK)

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Another 1996 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting excerpt via OID:

Wall Street reports haven't helped. But annual reports.... 

Buffett: It's amazing how well you can do in investing really with what I'd call "outside" information. I'm not sure how useful inside information is. But there's all kinds of "outside" information around as to businesses. And you don't have to understand all of them. You just have to understand the ones you're thinking about investing in. And you can. But no one can do it for you. 

In my view, you can't read Wall Street reports and get anything out of them. You've got to get your arms around it yourself. I don't think we've ever gotten an idea from a Wall Street report. However, we've gotten a lot of ideas from annual reports. Charlie? 

Where it all begins and ends.... 

Munger: It takes a long time to read an annual report - even if the business is a comparatively simple one. If you're really trying to understand it, it's not a bit easy. 

Buffett: Yeah. On average, in a business we're really interested in - where we know what to skip to some extent and what to read - we'll spend 45 minutes or an hour on a single annual report. If there are six or eight companies in the industry, that's going to be six to eight hours. And then there are quarterlies and a lot of other [material].... 

The way you learn about businesses is by absorbing information about 'em, deciding what counts and what doesn't and relating one thing to another. That's the job. 

You can't get that by looking at a bunch of little numbers on a chart bobbing up and down or by reading market commentary, periodicals or anything of the sort. That won't do it. You have to understand the businesses. That's where it all begins and ends.