Some call Prem Watsa the Warren Buffett of Canada. He is the CEO of Fairfax Financial (OTC: FRFHF), an insurance holding company modeled in much the same way as Berkshire Hathaway. And over the last 30 years, he compounded the book value of this business by more than 21%. Not only does he have a remarkable track record, but as early as 2004 he accurately predicted, and was warning of, the impending doom facing the housing market. #-ad_banner-#Recently, he began warning of a new danger to the markets: deflation. The United States… Read More
Some call Prem Watsa the Warren Buffett of Canada. He is the CEO of Fairfax Financial (OTC: FRFHF), an insurance holding company modeled in much the same way as Berkshire Hathaway. And over the last 30 years, he compounded the book value of this business by more than 21%. Not only does he have a remarkable track record, but as early as 2004 he accurately predicted, and was warning of, the impending doom facing the housing market. #-ad_banner-#Recently, he began warning of a new danger to the markets: deflation. The United States is six years into an incredible bull market: the S&P 500 has nearly tripled from its March 2009 bottom, and the markets continue reaching new highs every month. On the surface everything looks rosy. Underneath, though, Watsa warns of serious trouble brewing. In Fairfax’s most recent investor conference call, Watsa referred to the fact that current levels of inflation are now at 60-year lows. That by itself is somewhat alarming, but remember that those low levels were reached despite the fact that the United States and almost the entire world has been engaged in easy-money policies on an unprecedented level. Read More