Factoid: “Unprecedented” drop in holiday sales?
Reuters: No Thanksgiving rest for retailers in sales race (read article)
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Buffet Biggest Bet…
In his biggest bet yet, Warren Buffet (via Berkshire Hathaway) is buying a 77% stake in Burlington Northern Santa Fe (a railroad company). Do the purchase price and long-term financials make sense? I have no clue . One assumes they do unless Warren’s lost his mind. The basic argument for rail makes sense:
- American’s buy stuff
- Stuff has to get from manufacturer to marketplace
- Pending any breakthroughs in teleportation, rail is going to be a big part of that moving stuff
So it’s an industry with a long-term future. The long-term outlook for oil and coal probably played a part investing in rail, too. But, I still have to ask…
Has Warren Lost His Mind?
This is a semi-serious question. Or is he telling the whole story?
The moon disaster that never happened
“Fate has ordained that the men who went to the Moon to explore in peace will stay on the Moon to rest in peace…”
- President Richard Nixon’s archives
The line above is a from a memo written by Bill Safire, President Nixon’s speechwritter to the Whitehouse Chief of Staff Harry (“Bob”) Haldeman (made famous by Watergate and All the President’s Men).
5 Important Videos on the Flu (Swine, Bird, 1918)
1. What can we learn from the 1918 flu pandemic?
(Source: Ted.com | Presenter: Pulitzer Prize winner Laurie Garrett)