This and That

1. Warren Buffett’s recent visit to Toronto generated a spate of newspaper articles. The Financial Post reported that Mr. Buffett is bullish on the American economy despite the recent credit crunch and carried his Q&A with a Toronto audience. You can also view a video of an exclusive interview the Post conducted with the Oracle of Omaha on YouTube. Derek DeCloet of The Globe and Mail also reported on the visit including this gem of a quote: “The people who brewed this toxic Kool-Aid found themselves drinking a lot of it in the end”.
2. How do finance professors who counsel us to index invest their own money? Jason Zweig writes that nearly one-third believe they can beat the market. So much for theory!
3. As the RRSP season hits the home stretch, it is the season for silly investment ideas, such as this article in The Globe and Mail that suggests a strategy called “Follow the trend”.
4. The TV show Til Debt Do Us Part is addictive; it features Gail Vaz-Oxlade knocking financial sense into grown-ups who are irresponsible with money. Thanks to Dividends Matter for the tip that full episodes of the show are available online.

Blog Roundup:

1. Canadian Mortgage Trends reports that an incredible 70% of mortgage renewals are simply signed and returned.
2. Mike from Four Pillars shares his story of how he almost got trapped into signing a fixed-rate gas contract.
3. Larry MacDonald adds the SocGen affair to the long list of trading scandals.
4. Million Dollar Journey is giving away five copies of Preet Banerjee’s RRSP book.
5. Thicken My Wallet is writing a series of posts on the business of blogging.

Have a nice weekend everyone!