Towse: views from the hill » economy

An interactive map of vanishing employment across the country. – By Chris Wilson – Slate Magazine

Towse — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:14:00 +0000

An interactive map of vanishing employment across the country. – By Chris Wilson – Slate Magazine

Stunning visual impact.
January 2007 >>> February 2009

To the Shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.: Buffett’s letter

Towse — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 23:02:00 +0000

That’s the good news. But there’s another less pleasant reality: During 2008 I did some dumb things in investments. I made at least one major mistake of commission and several lesser ones that also hurt. I will tell you more about these later. Furthermore, I made some errors of omission, sucking my thumb when new facts came in that should have caused me to re-examine my thinking and promptly take action.

Additionally, the market value of the bonds and stocks that we continue to hold suffered a significant decline along with the general market. This does not bother Charlie and me. Indeed, we enjoy such price declines if we have funds available to increase our positions. Long ago, Ben Graham taught me that “Price is what you pay; value is what you get.” Whether we’re talking about socks or stocks, I like buying quality merchandise when it is marked down.

Read the entire Buffett letter to BRK stockholders here [PDF]

FY2010 Federal budget (USA)

Towse — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 21:52:00 +0000

The proposed FY 2010 budget in 146pp of detail. This is a narrative take on the budget, not pages and pages of income/outgo numbers.

Take a look. [PDF]