Subject: Re: BAC
Manlobbi you too are a great writer and I guess those who write and get the most likes are most valuable to a web site and thus will get praised. Thru the years, once again, we've had dominant posters who gain staus as...well...dominant posters. And the stocks chosen to be discussed end up quite narrow and interesting.

All the while great businesses, without Elon or Jeff, are all around but gain no traction because...well...

So we day trade Berkshire and Dollar General. DG is in my neighborhood, a new location of 4 years ago that is currently shut down with a "closed" sign. Rumors are that the business was run understaffed, that being understaffed is the "profit" model. Problems come from understaffing though, that the store is hit with theft and disrumption on the shelves and is dirty. Basically, "We make money with 1 or 2 employees but lose with 2 or 3."

So this is the fabulous business model we trade with Carmax?

There's a point where those of us who came to Berkshire with years of ownership (mine began with mom's suicide and dad's early 1975 death) who have also owned may other wildly successful businesses along with some dogs that went to zero or close...or stocks that just don't "perform" - but anyway we came to a Berkshire forum to openly Bershire and other businesses and without the anxiety of being one-upped slaughtered by the superior poster on the board.

I somehow, some way, through...well I guess it is grand luck given I can't write a 1000 word narrative on return on equity or whatnot, have progressed nicely in financial terms since my abrumpt beginning owning stocks decades ago. I didn't need the cutsy, but rude, genius to precisely inform me of what intricate details I've missed, or maybe left out because I wasn't in the moood to write (again) a 1000 word narrative on some subject that has about zero meaning as to whether you "outperform" or not.

My experience is quite different that Jim's. My experience is that men/women who were patient, men/women who held stocks their entire lifetime ended up with the eggs in the basket. Those who traded on precise and often menaningless short term "valuation" metrics? Well, they aren't the ones making the multi-million dollar donations.

Yea, somehow and someway businesses like the rail, the insurance brokers, the exchanges, and many others that can't gain traction - while being extremely relevant - survive and thrive.

As I've mentioned before it has been 25 years since I gained incredibly unpopular status by debating the very popular babyb on General Electric (she loved Jack) and Cisco (she adored John). I just debated and gained the villian...the dominant poster? Was the dominant poster.

I do remember debating a couple posters on a couple other businesses, one in particular was BPY which for whatever reason became the 1000 word narrative super-stock for years and years. All while owning it...and the entitiy it fell under since well back, and I mean really far back, in the Brascan days.

So 69 year old dealraker comes to discuss business, not one-up other as to my supreme knowledge or the particulars such as detailed ROE. Again the best investors I have known, and I know a few, skipped by this topic in 3 seconds 50 years ago as it is plain obvious and plain slapping you in the face it is so low level obvious. Do I need then endless 1000 word elaborations? Really?

Anybody want to discuss business?

As to day trading Berkshire on book and daytrading DG on its viscious cycles here's an article that may should be read. Seems 9 of 10 of us....well are kidding ourselves by daytrading and spending all day one-uppping on the forums.

https://jasonzweig.com/from-th...