With the markets closed for Good Friday, not much is happening in the business world today. Or I should qualify that by saying today is something of a day off for me (not completely, but that's the way it goes when you're self-employed), and I'm not doing a whole heckuva lot of reading.
Still, I've come across five items you might wish to check out between now and next week.
- James G. Boswell II died this week at age 86 (HT: Cheap Stocks). Jonathan of the Cheap Stocks blog writes, "Boswell presided over JG Boswell, Co (Ticker:BWEL), one of the most
interesting quasi-publicly traded companies that most investors have
never heard of, as chairman, president and CEO from 1952 until 1984. He
was still serving on the board of directors at the time of his death." Boswell is yet another great business story that happens under the radar screen, an individual doing some great things, yet never wanting the spotlight. In that respect, he reminds me of the late Bill Thomas of Capital Southwest. And now I've found another book added to my reading list: The King of California: J. G. Boswell and the Making of a Secret American Empire
.
- It was announced a week ago that Peter Cundill is now Chairman Emeritus of Mackenzie Cundill. Not too surprising, since Cundill has been planning his exit since selling his business sometime back. Tim McElvaine left Cundill a few years ago. And then earlier this week came the announcement that a prominent Cundill manager, Wade Burton, was leaving to join Fairfax Financial. A couple months ago a manager named Jim Thompson took the role of investment team lead with Mackenzie Cundill. Thompson used to be with Southeastern Asset Management. So lets hope the Cundill style can continue.
- I remember after the S&L scandals in the early 1990s some sharp investors did well sifting through the rubble. I have no doubt some will do the same with bank stocks in the wake of the current financial mess. Barron's Online recently interviewed a fund manager investing in small banks, Ken Mertz. This idea is intriguing, but you probably can't just invest in one bank -- you need a basket like Mertz' fund.
- Doug French writes about attending the recent Crisis & Investing Summit that Doug Casey held in Las Vegas. French is currently with the Mises Institute and has a background in banking in Nevada. He reports a brutal picture for real estate going forward.
- Judi Bevan profiles British Airways CEO Willie Walsh in The Spectator. Running an airline must be one of the very toughest jobs around. Especially now.
Have a great weekend. Happy Easter. And see you next week if not before.
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