From an interesting article in The Globe and Mail: "Fairfax sent a team to Dublin about two weeks ago to comb through the bank’s loan books and question its credit people. Mr. Watsa met with the bank’s management, and came away believing that, with a recapitalization, Bank of Ireland chief executive officer Richie Boucher would … Continue reading Nugget: Fairfax aquires 35% of Bank of Ireland
Tag: Watsa
Fairfax Financial Holdings
Investment Competence How would you describe the investment style of Hamblin Watsa? Our investment philosophy at Hamblin Watsa rests on the principles of value investing championed by Ben Graham and practiced by Warren Buffett and John Templeton. We have a long term value oriented approach to managing money, which results in our viewing the risk of capital … Continue reading Fairfax Financial Holdings
Nugget: Why Shareowner Value?
Prem Watsa is one of those who has praised the quality of Roberto C. Goizueta´s article of the importance of shareholder value creation as a central mission for corporations. "We have one job: to generate a fair return for our owners, who have entrusted their assets to us. Without focusing on that job, we fail. … Continue reading Nugget: Why Shareowner Value?
Fairfax exposure to Japan
This is an excerpt from the 2010 Annual Report of Odissey Re: We wrote $539 million of gross premiums in EuroAsia in 2010, a decrease of 3.7% from the previous year. [...] Meanwhile, premiums written from Singapore grew 24%, mainly due to expanded property writings in Japan and China. [...] The business mix of our … Continue reading Fairfax exposure to Japan
Prem Watsa on insurance industry outlook in 2010 annual letter
Our businesses in Canada and the United States continue to be challenged by highly competitive market conditions. Excess capacityhas led to downward pressure on rates. Another year of benign catastrophe experience inNorthAmerica has encouraged aggressive pricing. While the industry’s accident year combined ratio is running at 100% or more, reserve releases from prior years have … Continue reading Prem Watsa on insurance industry outlook in 2010 annual letter