The crack in the door at Sequoia (SEQUX) has shut. Effective immediately, the fund has closed entirely to new investors. Recall that the fund instituted a soft close in January 2012, which limited new shareholders to those who opened accounts directly through the firm's transfer agent rather than through brokerage platforms. Going forward, only existing shareholders will be allowed to open new accounts directly. As before, existing shareholders may still purchase additional shares. The soft close in 2012 did curb inflows substantially, as the fund has collected an estimated $130 million in the 21 months through October 2013. In the 12 months prior to the 2012 close, the fund had collected about $1 billion. This move brings the fund in line with parent firm Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb'sNews

Vierendeel bridge faces demolition in Belgium

Saturday, August 29, 2009

I usually don't pay much attention to bridges outside of the U.S., as I have my hands full just keeping up with this country. However, the Flemish Association for Industrial Archaeology sent a note about the upcoming replacement of a very rare bridge in Belgium. The Scheepsdale Bridge in the town of Brugge features a Vierendeel truss with a swing span.

Belgian engineer Arthur Vierendeel (1852-1940) developed the unusual design, consisting of a truss with no diagonal members. To compensate for the lack of diagonals, the design incorporates rounded corners to handle bending forces. While several Vierendeel trusses remain in Belgium, the Scheepsdale Bridge is reportedly the last example with a movable span.

The U.S. only has a handful of Vierendeel truss