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Discover Card Balance Transfer Offers Might Be a Bad IdeaAlthough I personally haven’t used a balance transfer offer in at least a couple years, since I run CreditCardForum obviously I am constantly staying on top of who’s giving what. As a Discover cardholder, they periodically solicit me with balance transfer promotions (as do most credit card companies). Here is an example of an email [...] Nuclear Power Generation by Country from 1985-2010 The chart shows the top nuclear power producing countries from 1985 to 2010. The chart created by Curious Cat Investing and Economics Blog may be used with attribution. Data from US Department of Energy.___________________ Nuclear power provided 14% of the world’s electricity in 2010. Wind power capacity increased 233% Worldwide from 2005 2010, to a total of 2.5% of global electricity needs. Nuclear power generation declined by .72% for the same period. Burning coal was responsible for 41% of electricity generation in 2010. Burning natural gas accounted for 21% and hydroelectric generation accounted for 15%. Japan just announced that they have closed their last operating nuclear power plant. They have no nuclear power plant generating electricity for the first time in more than 40 years. It will be interesting to see how low their actual generation totals fall this year. They plan to re-open some of the plants but it is a political issue that is far from settled. Globally nuclear power production increased 84% from 1985 to 2010. This is a very low percentage. Global output over that period increased much more than that, as did global electricity use. The share of electricity production provided by nuclear power peaked at about 17% for much of the 1990s. Related: Nuclear Power Production Globally from 1985 to 2009 – Oil Production by Country 1999-2009 – Top 10 Countries for Manufacturing Production from 1980 to 2010: China, USA, Japan, Germany… – Japan to Add Personal Solar Subsidies – Nuclear Energy Institute (statistics) Another view of data on nuclear power shows which of the leading nuclear producing countries have the largest percentages of their electrical generating capacity provided by nuclear power plants (as of 2009). France has 75% of all electricity generated from nuclear power. Ukraine had the second largest percentage at 49%, then Sweden at 37% and South Korea at 35%. Japan is at 28% compared to 20% for the USA. Russia was at 18% and China was at just 2%. Sallie Mae Credit Card Review: 2-5% Cash Back?!According to the website Amplicate, which measures social media, “currently more than 97% of people hate Sallie Mae.” Ouch! But whether you love ‘em or hate ‘em there is one thing I think everyone can agree on… their credit card rewards are a surprisingly good deal! Two hidden gems for cash back Not many people [...] My First Credit Card Advice: 10 Tips I Learned Along The WayI remember when I got my first credit card. I was 18 and still a senior in high school. Rather than shopping around for the best credit card offer, I simply filled out an application at the same bank my checking and savings accounts were located, KeyBank (sidenote: I stopped banking with them long ago). [...] Curious Cat Investing, Economics and Personal Finance Carnival #30Welcome to the Curious Cat Investing, Economics and Personal Finance Carnival: find useful recent personal finance, investing and economics blog posts and articles. This carnival is different than other carnivals: I select posts from what I read (instead of posting those that submit to the carnival as many carnivals do). If you would like to host the carnival add a comment below.
Morgan Stanley Credit Card Offers From American ExpressDisappointed with my broker, I’ve been shopping around for a new one lately. While researching Morgan Stanley, I noticed they have a couple new credit card offers out which were launched in 2012. There is no application online and the website only provides very basic details about the two cards. For example on the first [...] Warren Buffett’s 2011 Letter to ShareholdersWarren Buffett continues to write his excellent annual shareholder letter. It is a pleasure to read them every year. I have selected a few passages to include: The logic is simple: If you are going to be a net buyer of stocks in the future, either directly with your own money or indirectly (through your ownership of a company that is repurchasing shares), you are hurt when stocks rise. You benefit when stocks swoon. Emotions, however, too often complicate the matter: Most people, including those who will be net buyers in the future, take comfort in seeing stock prices advance. These shareholders resemble a commuter who rejoices after the price of gas increases, simply because his tank contains a day’s supply.
Charlie and I don’t expect to win many of you over to our way of thinking – we’ve observed enough human behavior to know the futility of that – but we do want you to be aware of our personal calculus. And here a confession is in order: In my early days I, too, rejoiced when the market rose. Then I read Chapter Eight of Ben Graham’s The Intelligent Investor, the chapter dealing with how investors should view fluctuations in stock prices. Immediately the scales fell from my eyes, and low prices became my friend. Picking up that book was one of the luckiest moments in my life. Investors face challenges within their own psychology. This is one, but not the only one. At bottom, a sound insurance operation needs to adhere to four disciplines. It must (1) understand all exposures that might cause a policy to incur losses; (2) conservatively evaluate the likelihood of any exposure actually causing a loss and the probable cost if it does; (3) set a premium that will deliver a profit, on average, after both prospective loss costs and operating expenses are covered; and (4) be willing to walk away if the appropriate premium can’t be obtained.
Many insurers pass the first three tests and flunk the fourth. They simply can’t turn their back on business that their competitors are eagerly writing. That old line, “The other guy is doing it so we must as well,” spells trouble in any business, but in none more so than insurance. Indeed, a good underwriter needs an independent mindset akin to that of the senior citizen who received a call from his wife while driving home. “Albert, be careful,” she warned, “I just heard on the radio that there’s a car going the wrong way down the Interstate.” “Mabel, they don’t know the half of it,” replied Albert, “It’s not just one car, there are hundreds of them.” Tad has observed all four of the insurance commandments, and it shows in his results. General Re’s huge float has been better than cost-free under his leadership, and we expect that, on average, it will continue to be. In the first few years after we acquired it, General Re was a major headache. Now it’s a treasure. The insurance business is explained well in this, and his other shareholder letter. Related: Warren Buffett’s 2010 Letter to Shareholders – Warren Buffett’s Q&A With Shareholders 2009 – Warren Buffett’s 2007 Letter to Shareholders
Our approach is far from Darwinian, and many of you may disapprove of it. I can understand your position. However, we have made – and continue to make – a commitment to the sellers of businesses we buy that we will retain those businesses through thick and thin. So far, the dollar cost of that commitment has not been substantial and may well be offset by the goodwill it builds among prospective sellers looking for the right permanent home for their treasured business and loyal associates. These owners know that what they get with us can’t be delivered by others and that our commitments will be good for many decades to come.
Warren Buffett has become rich with smart long term investing grounded in principles of fairness. These principles are understood too few CEOs and sadly even fewer CEOs practice them. Iscar, our 80%-owned cutting-tools operation, continues to amaze us. Its sales growth and overall performance are unique in its industry. Iscar’s managers – Eitan Wertheimer, Jacob Harpaz and Danny Goldman – are brilliant strategists and operators. When the economic world was cratering in November 2008, they stepped up to buy Tungaloy, a leading Japanese cutting-tool manufacturer. Tungaloy suffered significant damage when the tsunami hit north of Tokyo last spring. But you wouldn’t know that now: Tungaloy went on to set a sales record in 2011. I visited the Iwaki plant in November and was inspired by the dedication and enthusiasm of Tungaloy’s management, as well as its staff. They are a wonderful group and deserve your admiration and thanks.
I hardly read any shareholder letters anymore (they are mindless and useless by and large) but when I did no other CEOs personally showered as much credit on specific employees as Warren Buffett does year after year. By itself I really don’t think this matters much. But if, as it appears (based on his actions not just his words) this reflects his principles it is incredibly important. He trusts and respects those workers and it pays off. Large stock holdings of Berkshire Hathaway:
Today the world’s gold stock is about 170,000 metric tons. If all of this gold were melded together, it would form a cube of about 68 feet per side. (Picture it fitting comfortably within a baseball infield.) At $ 1,750 per ounce – gold’s price as I write this – its value would be $ 9.6 trillion. Call this cube pile A.
Let’s now create a pile B costing an equal amount. For that, we could buy all U.S. cropland (400 million acres with output of about $ 200 billion annually), plus 16 Exxon Mobils (the world’s most profitable company, one earning more than $ 40 billion annually). After these purchases, we would have about $ 1 trillion left over for walking-around money (no sense feeling strapped after this buying binge). Can you imagine an investor with $ 9.6 trillion selecting pile A over pile B? Is Discover “Cash Over” Going To Cost You Extra?Q: I was using my Discover card at the grocery store and after swiping, it asked if I wanted cash back. I selected “no” because I don’t know how this works. Will I get ripped off paying cash advance interest rates for using this? A: The feature you are referring to is Discover Cash Over. [...] |