Graham And Doddsville

I ran across articles about two of the three editors of the new edition of Security Analysis.  I am in the midst of reading the new edition (which really amounts to re-reading the 1940 edition) and continue to be amazed by the timeless wisdom of Graham and Dodd.

Seth Klarman, founder of Baupost Capital, was interviewed by his Alma Mater in HBS Magazine.  Klarman is also the author of the mysterious Margin of Safety.  If you don’t know what I mean, read this Business Week article.  It is a great book.  If you search hard enough,  you can probably find a .pdf version online.

The Wall Street Journal posted an article discussing Professor Bruce Greenwald’s new book.  Read it here.

Columbia Professor Bruce Greenwald and Judd Kahn have released their newest joint-venture:  “globalization: n. the irrational fear that someone in China will take your job.”  I spent as much time as possible in classes with Professor Greenwald (even before I was eligible to enroll for them), and can vividly hear him exclaiming the title.  I have not yet read the book, but hope to pick it up this week.  Here is a brief excerpt of the press release:

To its critics, globalization is a terrible development that makes almost everybody worse off and threatens the survival of the planet. They blame it for everything from mass poverty in Africa and Latin America to the falling living standards for workers in Europe and North America. In contrast, globalization’s advocates argue that it is the greatest force for good in human history, a powerful institution for improving the quality of life around the world. The underlying problem with both of these positions, says Bruce Greenwald and Judd Kahn, authors of Globalization: n. the irrational fear that someone in China will take your job, is that they are based on certain accepted truths that are either highly questionable or largely false.

You can read the press release from Wiley here.

Listen to Professor Greenwald defending his thesis on the Biz Radio Network here.

For more on Professor Greenwald, see the recent blog entries (here, here, here, and here) on the Columbia Business School Blog: Public Offering.

Prem Watsa, of Fairfax Holdings, speaks about Ben Graham and his philosophy.

Thanks to Gurufocus.com for posting the video.

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Here is a short article from the Miami Herald about Professor Greenwald’s new book:  globalization: n. the irrational fear that someone in China will take your job.

Professor Bruce Greenwald recently wrote a piece for the Columbia’s Ideas@Work publication.  You can read the article here.

Over the past few weeks, more than a few successful long-term investors have claimed that the stock market contains some of the best values they have seen in their careers. Among these SuperInvestors are Warren Buffett, Marty Whitman, Jean-Marie Eveillard, Bruce Berkowitz, and Bill Ackman to name just a few. Two quick thoughts:

First, I love to see stories like this one from Doug Kass. It seems to me that people beginning to wonder whether Warren Buffett has ‘lost his groove’ is a strong indicator that we are in the midst of a serious dislocation in the market. The last time I remember seeing such stories was in the late 1990’s during the internet bubble. I guess we won’t know whether Buffett has lost his touch until 5 or 10 years from now. However, Warren Buffett’s ability to sit back and filter out this noise is, in my opinion, one of his greatest attributes.

Second, if there are so many undervalued businesses out there, what should we be looking for? Professor Bruce Greenwald provides some insight to this question in his interview with US News and World Reports.  A great read from my favorite professor.