BYD's Wang Chuan Fu: Rising Yuan Possible Roadblock for BYD

In an exclusive interview, BYD's chairman Wang Chuan Fu, tells CNBC's Christine Tan that it's important the government adopts a policy of "gradual" appreciation of the yuan so that mainland exporters are able to digest the pressure brought on by the currency rising.

In 2008, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway bought 10 percent stake in BYD, a Chinese battery and electric car maker for $230 million. Buffett’s shares translate to about $1.4 billion in today’s prices.

BYD is traded in HongKong stock exchange. US investors can buy shares on pink sheets under the symbols of “BYDDF” and “BYDDY”.

Will BYD Be the World’s Biggest Car Maker?

A cornucopia of interesting data points from The Networked EV conference.

A number of industry experts and executives gathered in San Francisco this week to discuss the future of electric cars and the grid at The Networked EV. Here are some of the more interesting data points:
2015: The year that China's BYD says it will become the largest car maker, by unit volumes, in China, according to Liam Li, senior business director of BYD America.

Recommended Book List 2010 – Part 1

Updated for 2010 and in time for the holidays, here is the latest installment of my recommended books. I originally wrote this list in 2008 and again last year. I intend to keep adding to and revising it every year. It contains seven sections: Selling, Think Like an Investor, Behavioral Investing, Economics, Stock Market History, Risk and Books for the Soul. The first three sections are presented below and the remaining four will be presented next week. I hope you enjoy it.

BYD's Net Suffers as Stimulus Wanes

By JOANNE CHIU

HONG KONG—BYD Co. reported lackluster earnings, reflecting a decline in car sales in China amid reduced government incentives and lower margins in the company's battery business.

What Todd Combs and I have in Common: Leucadia National Corp.

Recently, Todd Combs, a 39 year old hedge fund manager, was named by Berkshire Hathaway to manage a "significant portion" of the company's investment portfolio. Mr. Combs has been managing Castle Point Capital, a Greenwich based hedge fund for the past five years. Today, not much is known about him or his hedge fund, but we can look at Castle Point Capital 13-F SEC reports and learn of his investments. Between March 31, 2010 and June 30, 2010, Mr. Combs purchased 4 new names and added to a few of his existing positions. One of the 4 new positions is in a company called Leucadia National Corp. (NYSE:LUK). He purchased 255,000 shares at an average cost of $23.36. Coincidently, I too purchased Leucadia for my portfolio around the same time at an average cost of $19.97.

Lessons From a Lost Decade

John P. Hussman, Ph.D.
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Over the past decade, stock market investors have experienced enormous volatility, including two separate market declines in excess of 50%. Despite periodic advances, at the end of it all, as a reward for their patience, investors have achieved an average annual total return of approximately zero. If the past decade has been a lesson for investors, that lesson should have two components. The first is that valuations matter. Though valuations often have little impact on short-term returns over periods of less than a few years, they are undoubtedly the single best predictor of long-term market returns. Moreover, high valuations are ultimately followed by far deeper periodic losses than emerge from low valuations. Put simply, greater risk does not imply greater reward if the risks that investors take are overvalued and inefficient ones.

Seven Attractive Dividend Aristocrats Proving The wisdom of the Masters: Peter Lynch and Warren Buffett

When I entered this business 40 years ago, it seemed reasonable to me to study how the best investors behaved. The two investing masters that I respected the most were Peter Lynch and Warren Buffett. If I was going to be of value to others, it only made sense that I learn as much as I could from those who had amassed the best and most consistent track records. What struck me the most, as I studied these Masters, was how similar and aligned their investment philosophies were.