<story><title>Berkshire Hathaway 2017 Annual Letter [pdf]</title><url>http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2017ltr.pdf</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>vladd</author><text>Warren included several gems in this year&amp;#x27;s annual letter. Below, a small preview:&lt;p&gt;- discussion about December&amp;#x27;s tax change (&amp;gt;&amp;gt; The $65 billion gain is nonetheless real – rest assured of that. But only $36 billion came from Berkshire’s operations. The remaining $29 billion was delivered to us in December when Congress rewrote the U.S. Tax Code &amp;lt;&amp;lt;)&lt;p&gt;- the new GAAP accounting standard that will produce huge quarterly swings in Berkshire reporting in the quarters to come.&lt;p&gt;- 2017&amp;#x27;s frenzy in high purchase prices for American enterprises, and the side-effects of using debt to finance them. (&amp;gt;&amp;gt;  If Wall Street
analysts or board members urge that brand of CEO to consider possible acquisitions, it’s a bit like telling your ripening
teenager to be sure to have a normal sex life. &amp;lt;&amp;lt;)&lt;p&gt;- payments made by Berkshire for hurricane insurance.&lt;p&gt;- strong discouragement to borrow in order to buy stocks (&amp;gt;&amp;gt; the strongest argument I can muster against ever using borrowed money to own stocks.
There is simply no telling how far stocks can fall in a short period. Even if your borrowings are small and your
positions aren’t immediately threatened by the plunging market, your mind may well become rattled by scary headlines
and breathless commentary. And an unsettled mind will not make good decisions. &amp;lt;&amp;lt;)&lt;p&gt;- details about Warren&amp;#x27;s bet against hedge funds when compared to S&amp;amp;P indexing.&lt;p&gt;- risks in owning bonds versus stocks.&lt;p&gt;Overall, I found the letter to be a useful reading for those passionate about investing or financial self-sustainability.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>senthil_rajasek</author><text>&amp;quot;- risks in owning bonds versus stocks.&amp;quot;
This article summarizes  this point nicely, &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.marketwatch.com&amp;#x2F;story&amp;#x2F;warren-buffett-says-famous-hedge-fund-bet-delivered-this-unexpected-lesson-2018-02-24&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.marketwatch.com&amp;#x2F;story&amp;#x2F;warren-buffett-says-famous...&lt;/a&gt;</text></comment>
<story><title>Berkshire Hathaway 2017 Annual Letter [pdf]</title><url>http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2017ltr.pdf</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>vladd</author><text>Warren included several gems in this year&amp;#x27;s annual letter. Below, a small preview:&lt;p&gt;- discussion about December&amp;#x27;s tax change (&amp;gt;&amp;gt; The $65 billion gain is nonetheless real – rest assured of that. But only $36 billion came from Berkshire’s operations. The remaining $29 billion was delivered to us in December when Congress rewrote the U.S. Tax Code &amp;lt;&amp;lt;)&lt;p&gt;- the new GAAP accounting standard that will produce huge quarterly swings in Berkshire reporting in the quarters to come.&lt;p&gt;- 2017&amp;#x27;s frenzy in high purchase prices for American enterprises, and the side-effects of using debt to finance them. (&amp;gt;&amp;gt;  If Wall Street
analysts or board members urge that brand of CEO to consider possible acquisitions, it’s a bit like telling your ripening
teenager to be sure to have a normal sex life. &amp;lt;&amp;lt;)&lt;p&gt;- payments made by Berkshire for hurricane insurance.&lt;p&gt;- strong discouragement to borrow in order to buy stocks (&amp;gt;&amp;gt; the strongest argument I can muster against ever using borrowed money to own stocks.
There is simply no telling how far stocks can fall in a short period. Even if your borrowings are small and your
positions aren’t immediately threatened by the plunging market, your mind may well become rattled by scary headlines
and breathless commentary. And an unsettled mind will not make good decisions. &amp;lt;&amp;lt;)&lt;p&gt;- details about Warren&amp;#x27;s bet against hedge funds when compared to S&amp;amp;P indexing.&lt;p&gt;- risks in owning bonds versus stocks.&lt;p&gt;Overall, I found the letter to be a useful reading for those passionate about investing or financial self-sustainability.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>thisisit</author><text>&amp;gt; &lt;i&gt;The ample availability of extraordinarily cheap debt in 2017 further fueled purchase activity. After all, even
a high-priced deal will usually boost per-share earnings if it is debt-financed.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;p&gt;There are lot of risky bets being made on back of cheap debt. I don&amp;#x27;t know how long will this sustain - Tesla, NXP, Broadcom and Qualcom to name a few - It will be interesting to see how things turn once the rates start to turn.</text></comment>