The gross profits in many workouts appear quite small. It's a little like looking for parking meters with some time left on them. However, the predictability coupled with a short holding period produces quite decent average annual rates of return after allowance for the occasional substantial loss.

Things you like to do should be a hobby of yours, but things the world does should be a business of yours.

Stocks of companies selling commodity-like products should come with a warning label: "Competition may prove hazardous to human wealth".

A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought.

But 300 million Americans, their lending institutions, their government, their media, all believed that house prices were going to go up consistently. And that got billed into a $20 trillion residential home market. Lending was done based on it, and everybody did a lot of foolish things.

All there is to investing is picking good stocks at good times and staying with them as long as they remain good companies.

When the president of the United States goes out at, you know, 8:00 o'clock in the morning and then his own party votes gets him 2 to 1 in the house, you know that somehow a message isn't getting out. It takes real leadership.