2022-11-08 22:51
Following the French Revolution, Napoleon sought to conquer more lands. But fans of the French monarchy would not go quietly. From England and elsewhere, they plotted to have France's leader… Read More
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Barel Karsan - Value Investing Blog
barelkarsan.com
Finding and discussing current value investments, applying logic to investment decisions, and always applying a margin of safety!
2022-10-28 22:40
We wonder why our leaders are often such terrible people. Everybody knows that "Power Corrupts", but there's much more to power's effect on society, as explained in Brian Klaas' Corruptible… Read More
2022-10-07 13:30
Karsan Value Funds (KVF) is a value-oriented fund, as described here. Due to securities regulations, the fund is not open to the public at this time. Should that change in the future, there… Read More
2022-10-03 19:06
The US Civil War was a big deal. The violence, the effect on families, and the eventual emancipation of the slaves are the oft-discussed themes. But the financing of the war played an underr… Read More
2022-09-15 23:51
It's believed that humans once shared the world with Neanderthals. But our evolutionary cousins eventually died out, but not before leaving their marks in our gene pool. Why or how did they… Read More
2022-09-08 04:30
The IRA was big news for a number of decades, and then it just kind of disappeared from the public eye as peace took hold. Documents and other evidence from that period has now come out. Wha… Read More
2022-08-16 19:16
Some of my best investments have happened when a temporary shock to earnings causes a company's stock price to get smoked, providing a good opportunity to buy. If leverage is low, the compan… Read More
2022-08-15 17:13
For a market leader, Rayonier (NYSE:RYAM) trades at a surprisingly huge discount to tangible book value. While the share price closed at $5.36 on Friday, the company's tangible book value wa… Read More
2022-08-12 21:24
The author of A Gentleman in Moscow has written another terrific novel, this time set around 1950 in the USA: The Lincoln Highway Way of life for much of the population has changed dramatica… Read More
2022-08-04 05:28
Author Ezra Klein spends the first half of Why We're Polarized making a good case that America's two parties have become more polarized. The main change happened in the 1960s. Whereas prior… Read More
2022-07-23 02:36
We make a bunch of intuitive decisions throughout the course of our lives. We might make better decisions if we didn't only have to rely on our intuition. In Don't Trust Your Gut, author Set… Read More
2022-07-18 22:36
The farm we picture as the source of our food, with various animals frolicking and grazing around different crops, is no longer our actual source of food. Various market and non-market force… Read More
2022-07-08 13:58
Karsan Value Funds (KVF) is a value-oriented fund, as described here. Due to securities regulations, the fund is not open to the public at this time. Should that change in the future, there… Read More
2022-07-07 19:47
Power and Thrones is a fantastic book describing the history of the Middle Ages. I was engrossed from the first chapter, which describes the fall of the Roman Empire and thus begins a new pe… Read More
2022-06-24 00:26
The cycle of poverty, crime and tragedy that haunts many Indegenous families is something of which I understand very little. The Break tells the story of one such family as its members strug… Read More
2022-06-17 17:16
I've lost count of the number of times I've bought Beazer Homes (BZH) over the years. Whenever the market gets spooked, this name takes an absolute pounding. This time is no different, as sh… Read More
2022-06-14 22:25
This Agatha Christie classic was made into a movie not once, but twice! The latest Death On The Nile movie came out just this year.
I haven't seen the movies but I thought the book was jus… Read More
2022-06-02 00:27
This is the third book I've read from Abir Mukherjee because I enjoyed the first two so much. This one is probably the best so far, as readers are introduced to an India that is now much mor… Read More
2022-05-26 16:33
Shares are down 60% from their highs. Considering the company's net cash position and consistent profitability, this is far too low. Enterprise Value to normalized estimated free cash flow i… Read More
2022-05-17 21:19
Michael Kimmelman was charged with insider trading as part of the US government's investigation into Raj Rajaratnam. But the evidence against him was much flimsier than that against the othe… Read More
2022-05-04 22:44
A Rising Man is the second novel by Abir Mukherjee that I've read, and I did so because the first one was so good. This one didn't disappoint either, with a fantastic story set in 1919 in In… Read More
2022-04-26 22:37
As countries progress towards getting a smaller percentage of their energy from fossil fuels, hydrogen fuel is one of the least discussed alternatives. But Marco Alvera believes it may make… Read More
2022-04-22 00:18
I've heard of most of the highest paid authors, like J.K. Rowling, Stephen King and John Grisham. But perhaps the highest paid author of the last decade is someone I hadn't heard of until a… Read More
2022-04-19 19:41
The lead-up to World War I was intense. Had the assassination of an archduke never occurred at that particular moment, I now still believe the same war would have broken out anyway. It was i… Read More
2022-04-08 13:00
Karsan Value Funds (KVF) is a value-oriented fund, as described here. Due to securities regulations, the fund is not open to the public at this time. Should that change in the future, there… Read More
2022-04-07 19:58
From the beginning of our universe to our eventual extinction, A Very Short History of Life on Earth gives an excellent summary of how we got here and where we'll possibly go. It's a terrifi… Read More
2022-04-01 21:41
The founder of Trader Joe's has written a book about how he built his company. Becoming Trader Joe was fantastic, and I say this as someone who is ambivalent about the brand, having never st… Read More
2022-03-29 18:40
I don't write a lot of negative book reviews on this site. That's not because I don't come across terrible books, but because I usually put such books down before finishing them, so any revi… Read More
2022-03-22 20:51
Predictions about the future are doomed to be wrong, and yet there are general concepts that we can learn about our past and present that can help us prepare for that uncertain future. Rob D… Read More
2022-03-15 00:29
What is Putin's end goal? Everyone seems to know what it is, but the problem is that they are saying different things. Is he trying to build an empire? Trying to re-create the Soviet Union?… Read More
2022-03-08 00:46
Shares of GASS are down 80% from their 2014 highs, and thus trade at an 83% discount to the latest book value. Read more...
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2022-03-02 20:55
At the end of World War II, the men who survived combat returned home to find that their jobs had been taken by women. As a result, there was a lot of pressure on women to relinquish their p… Read More
2022-02-24 00:53
India in the 1920s would have been a tumultuous place. Local kings ruled over swaths of oppressed peasants, and in turn those kings were controlled by the British. It's against this backdrop… Read More
2022-02-10 00:52
To Live was an interesting historical fiction novel that takes place before, during and after the Cultural Revolution in China. The book was once banned in China, where it is now widely read… Read More
2022-01-19 19:55
Midlife Dawn is the first in a series of popular books that takes place in a world where a few people are blessed/cursed with magical powers.
It reminded me a lot of the Harry Potter serie… Read More
2022-01-07 14:14
Karsan Value Funds (KVF) is a value-oriented fund, as described here. Due to securities regulations, the fund is not open to the public at this time. Should that change in the future, there… Read More
2021-12-23 06:47
Our bodies are marvels. Perhaps no part of us is as remarkable as our immune systems. We have a built-in nano-army that learns on the fly and protects us from our constantly-invading environ… Read More
2021-11-25 18:46
Over 50% discount to book value, as a result of terrible underwriting results in recent years. But under new management, earnings of over $14 million so far this year on market cap of $78 mi… Read More
2021-11-20 23:20
Prolific author Vaclav Smil is out with another book, Numbers Don't Lie: 71 Stories to Help Us Understand the Modern World.
Like all Smil books (at least the ones I have read), this one is… Read More
2021-11-01 21:47
I've become more interested in historical fiction lately, bringing me to my latest read: London: The Novel. Over a couple of thousand years, this city has gone from a backwater to one of the… Read More
2021-10-08 13:30
Karsan Value Funds (KVF) is a value-oriented fund, as described here. Due to securities regulations, the fund is not open to the public at this time. Should that change in the future, there… Read More
2021-08-07 18:18
Matterhorn is one of the best books I've read in a while. It's a novel that puts you in the trenches of the Vietnam War.
The book touches on a lot of topics: obviously war, but also politi… Read More
2021-07-28 18:35
Three years ago, I discussed The New Home Company as a potential value stock. Last week, the company announced that it has accepted a buyout offer.
It's no secret that the housing market i… Read More
2021-07-15 23:33
Perdoceo (NASDAQ:PRDO) is extremely cheap any way you look at it. The market cap is $820 million, but the company has a net cash position of $400 million, for an enterprise value of $420 mil… Read More
2021-07-09 13:34
Karsan Value Funds (KVF) is a value-oriented fund, as described here. Due to securities regulations, the fund is not open to the public at this time. Should that change in the future, there… Read More
2021-07-05 04:41
Cosmos is one of those timeless books that remains relevant despite its age. This 1980 gem by Carl Sagan explores the universe and life.
It lets the layman understand what we know about th… Read More
2021-05-25 17:19
A few months ago, I wrote about Friedman Industries (FRD) as a reasonably profitable (over the years) company that was currently in disfavour. It was a net-net and traded for less than half… Read More
2021-05-17 21:48
I recently purchased shares of media giant Viacom. They pretty much do everything from creating/licensing content to distributing it across cable and internet platforms. Rarely do I own shar… Read More
2021-04-29 19:38
Banned by several American schools in the 1960s, Slaughterhouse-Five is a World War II era novel that gives the reader a perspective on the bombing of Dresden. Having previously enjoyed a bo… Read More
2021-04-27 23:21
Franklin Wireless (FKWL) is a small-cap that sells hardware and software needed for mobile hotspots, routers and other wireless applications. It has seen booming sales as of late, with 2020… Read More
2021-04-14 04:33
When you look up at the moon, you're always looking at the same side of it, as the moon rotates on itself at the same rate at which it orbits Earth. It didn't always do that, but eventually… Read More
2021-04-09 16:31
Shares of ADF Group (DRX.CA) are down some 20% over the last two days, thanks to a disappointing quarterly update, on a number of fronts:
They managed to turn a profit only by booking gains… Read More
2021-04-02 16:09
Karsan Value Funds (KVF) is a value-oriented fund, as described here. Due to securities regulations, the fund is not open to the public at this time. Should that change in the future, there… Read More
2021-03-30 18:31
I'm not quite sure how to describe Galapagos: A Novel. It's weird and different, but that doesn't do the book justice, as it's also very clever and creative.
It touches on a lot of subject… Read More
2021-03-23 23:09
There are some serious problems in the US. In no way is this better demonstrated than by this chart showing life expectancies of all the rich countries:
The US has diverged dramaticall… Read More
2021-03-14 04:56
Bill Gates needs no introduction. In his new book, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need, he discusses how we can get from 51 billion tons of c… Read More
2021-03-10 05:21
A Man Called Ove is an excellent novel about life. I hesitate to give any more info about it, because part of the enjoyment for me was not knowing what was coming next.
There are flashback… Read More
2021-03-08 18:21
MBIA Inc (MBI) has historically insured financial payments. This is a really terrible business model that I would normally avoid, but I've invested here specifically because of exceptional… Read More
2021-03-01 20:54
I am struggling to find good investment opportunities. As such, my cash levels have been rising, as I have continued to sell companies that have risen to levels that are near my estimates of… Read More
2021-02-25 21:31
Cixin Liu's novels have taken China by storm. I recently read an English translation of his most famous work, The Three-Body Problem, and it was pretty good!
Historical fiction is one of m… Read More
2021-02-19 00:08
We have come very far as a civilization, across many measures of wealth and health. But despite our advances, there is a lot of neglect. What should we do differently so that our society is… Read More
2021-02-17 20:13
As the market has run, I've been selling securities where I think margins of safety have gotten small. When Mr. Market throws caution to the wind is when I like to fortify my balance sheet t… Read More
2021-02-12 04:24
After the Nazi regime's racial experiments and genocide horrified the world, race-related sciences saw a massive slowdown. It was no longer politically okay to draw conclusions about races a… Read More
2021-02-01 01:00
Alex Epstein goes against the grain in his book The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels. He makes a case that we should be using more, not less, fossil fuels, and at the risk of turning you off, dea… Read More
2021-01-28 04:28
Manning & Napier (MN) owns 88.2% of an asset manager with a similar name. This fully-consolidated subsidiary offers wealth-management services along with mutual funds and other similar p… Read More
2021-01-23 19:07
In early 1980's New York, a few characters try to improve their lots in life. All are selfish and flawed; in other words, they are human. How something will make one look is what guides beha… Read More
2021-01-12 04:24
David Waldron is a writer and investor who has managed to beat the market over a long period. In Build Wealth with Common Stocks, he shares his strategy with retail investors, allowing them… Read More
2021-01-08 14:24
Karsan Value Funds (KVF) is a value-oriented fund, as described here. Due to securities regulations, the fund is not open to the public at this time. Should that change in the future, there… Read More
2020-12-26 19:22
Barrack Obama made history by becoming the first US President who is at least half black. In A Promised Land, he discusses his years in office.
Unfortunately, because Obama goes into so mu… Read More
2020-12-01 01:00
Something has gone horribly wrong in the US. Compared to other developed countries, it's not only unable to keep up with life expectancy improvements, but it appears to be regressing. This i… Read More
2020-11-20 18:53
Jefferies has been spending a lot of time approaching its book value lately, so my sell orders have filled. This is a stock that traded at a massive discount to book not long ago, as I wrote… Read More
2020-11-19 22:46
Waitr is profitable and capitalized safely. Nevertheless, it is very cheap, perhaps thanks to past share issuances that the market is having trouble absorbing. It is also an acquisition targ… Read More
2020-11-13 18:21
I recently sold shares of Perdoceo as I worried about what complete Democratic Party control of the US government would mean for for-profit education companies. Free college was a very real… Read More
2020-11-09 22:14
Home builders have been on an absolute tear since the market lows earlier this year. Even lower rates combined with fears of the pandemic have driven sales of new homes higher, and home buil… Read More
2020-11-02 23:37
Netflix is one of the most popular companies in the world, boasting almost 200 million subscribers, and is also a stock market darling thanks to its impressive growth; revenue is up almost t… Read More
2020-10-23 22:50
Shares of railcar maker FreightCar America have almost tripled from their market-panic lows of March, but they still represent a big loss for me, as I purchased the shares in 2018 when they… Read More
2020-10-21 23:46
I thought The Art of the Good Life: Shortcuts to Happiness, Wealth, and Success would promote three or four important principles, and spend the book elaborating on how to get the most out of… Read More
2020-10-13 04:46
The war against cancer has not gone well. A great deal of resources has gone into fighting this massive killer, but the casualty count continues to rise. In the fascinating book Tripping ove… Read More
2020-10-07 01:42
"The Chains of Habit Are Too Light To Be Felt Until They Are Too Heavy To Be Broken," is one of my favourite sayings. Habits have a way of controlling us, and so the more we know about them… Read More
2020-10-06 06:19
I just love steady businesses with volatile stock prices. Beazer Homes is a stock I've bought and sold a number of times over the years. Now that the pandemic has brought home builders back… Read More
2020-10-02 13:00
Karsan Value Funds (KVF) is a value-oriented fund, as described here. Due to securities regulations, the fund is not open to the public at this time. Should that change in the future, there… Read More
2020-09-28 22:20
As a society, we spend a lot of time worrying about debt. Consumer debt, household debt, municipal debt, state/provincial debt, federal debt etc. But one of these types of debt is not like t… Read More
2020-09-19 19:40
Despite the belief among many Americans that they live in a meritocracy, income and wealth disparities among racial lines persist. In Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, Isabel Wilkerson… Read More
2020-09-17 22:41
While a certain sector of the market does seem overheated, I'm finding plenty of value opportunities around. Much of the market is still behaving like one in recession, and that's probably a… Read More
2020-09-10 20:59
ADF Group is engaged in "the design and engineering of connections, fabrication, including industrial coating, and installation of complex steel structures, heavy steel built-ups, as well as… Read More
2020-09-07 00:05
My memories of my trips to Vegas are bittersweet. On the one hand they have been a lot of fun, but on the other hand a number of incidents leave me feeling ripped off. None more so than goin… Read More
2020-08-28 21:12
I'm not that into poker, but Maria Konnikova's The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win has inspired me to enjoy this game again after a multi-year hiatus… Read More
2020-08-27 18:55
While many parts of the market have somewhat recovered towards or even above their pre-COVID highs, the energy industry has not fared as well. Over-capacity has resulted in product pricing t… Read More
2020-08-22 21:19
Historical fiction is probably my favourite genre right now, and within that context Jeffrey Archer's Kane & Abel does not disappoint! The plot is terrific, spans several fascinating his… Read More
2020-08-11 02:41
The co-founder of $60 billion-valued Square Inc has written an intriguing book called The Innovation Stack. Like most books based on a single idea, I think this book should have been an arti… Read More
2020-08-03 22:31
It feels like just 80 days ago that I wrote about Wabash as a beaten down ($7 share price) manufacturer of trailers that is capitalized to weather a possible multi-year storm. Last week, how… Read More
2020-07-30 00:07
John Steinbeck's 1939 realist novel The Grapes of Wrath won him a Pullitzer Prize for fiction and won The National Book Award. It was probably also the biggest reason Steinbeck won the Nobel… Read More
2020-07-22 22:37
What allows a business to thrive sustainably in the long term? It must have a competitive advantage, or power. In 7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy, Hamilton Helmer describes th… Read More
2020-07-17 22:45
When I buy a stock, I'm usually prepared to own it for several years. But sometimes lightning strikes and I'm able to exit much sooner. Such was the case with Culp Inc, which I discussed onl… Read More
2020-07-16 19:25
Jefferies is a company I've had my eye on for a long time. But I've never owned a single share until this downturn caused a huge reduction in the share price. In my view, this represents a t… Read More
2020-07-11 03:23
As FDR prepared to run for his third term as US President, a vocal group of Americans were advocating for the candidacy of Charles Lindbergh, the stunt flyer who had rather pro-Nazi views. L… Read More
2020-07-08 15:50
Ginseng is popular for consumption in Asia, but grows well in Ontario. Imperial Ginseng (IGP) is an Ontario grower and exporter of Ginseng that has hit a slew of what are hopefully temporary… Read More
2020-07-03 13:00
Karsan Value Funds (KVF) is a value-oriented fund, as described here. Due to securities regulations, the fund is not open to the public at this time. Should that change in the future, there… Read More
2020-06-22 22:56
Canada's housing market is in an insatiable, multi-decade upward rise. In When the Bubble Bursts: Surviving the Canadian Real Estate Crash, financial advisor Hilliard MacBeth explains the ca… Read More
2020-06-15 01:21
Our society is seemingly on a path where continued improvements (at least in absolute terms, on average) are the norm. It can feel as though this process can go on forever, or at least as lo… Read More
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