Monday, May 2, 2016

Omaha Links

For those who missed it, here's the link for the Berkshire Hathaway 2016 Annual Shareholders Meeting replay video (LINK) [The Q&A starts around the 42:20 mark.]

16-minute Yahoo! Finance video with Charlie Munger (LINK) [Munger mentioned Eric Hoffer and a key insight from his book The True Believer, around the 10:54 mark.]

Warren Buffett (who then gets joined by Bill Gates and Charlie Munger) on CNBC... Links to videos:
Buffett on streaming Berkshire's meeting (LINK
Buffett on currencies, rates and financials (LINK
Buffett on economic recovery (LINK
Buffett on jobs picture, GDP and oil (LINK
Buffett on American Express and buybacks (LINK
Why voters are mad: Buffett (LINK
Valeant's drug-pricing charge: Buffett (LINK
I drink Coca-Cola and I'm happy: Buffett (LINK
Buffett: Hedge funds in focus (LINK
Jeff Bezos has 'changed the world' in a big way: Buffett (LINK
Wal-Mart under a lot of pressure: Buffett (LINK
Buffett on Brexit (LINK
No surprise Baker Hughes, Halliburton deal fell through: Buffett (LINK
Buffett on slow global growth (LINK
Buffett on Big Blue, Yahoo and trade (LINK
[Gates and Munger join] 
Highlights from Omaha (LINK
Bill Gates: Impact of low rates (LINK
Bill Gates on the next path to normal (LINK
Europe's woes affecting our monetary policy: Buffett (LINK
Munger, Gates on future of AI (LINK
Buffett on driverless cars (LINK
Buffett on Puerto Rico's debt crisis (LINK
Bill Gates on pensions (LINK
'Idiots of each party' in control: Charlie Munger (LINK) [Munger mentioned Eric Hoffer and The True Believer again in this video.] 
Valeant was robbing our hospitals: Charlie Munger (LINK
Bill Gates on encryption battle (LINK
Fixing the tax code (LINK)
Phil Weiss' 2016 Markel Omaha Meeting Notes (LINK)

..................

And since Munger mentioned Eric Hoffer a couple of times, here's the quote from The True Believer that I've posted a couple of times before:
It goes without saying that the fanatic is convinced that the cause he holds on to is monolithic and eternal - a rock of ages. Still, his sense of security is derived from his passionate attachment and not from the excellence of his cause. The fanatic is not really a stickler to principle. He embraces a cause not primarily because of its justness and holiness but because of his desperate need for something to hold on to. Often, indeed, it is his need for passionate attachment which turns every cause he embraces into a holy cause.  
The fanatic cannot be weaned away from his cause by an appeal to his reason or moral sense. He fears compromise and cannot be persuaded to qualify the certitude and righteousness of his holy cause. But he finds no difficulty in swinging suddenly and wildly from one holy cause to another. He cannot be convinced but only converted. His passionate attachment is more vital than the quality of the cause to which he is attached.
For more on Hoffer, see THIS previous post.