The last time that global events were more important to long-term investors than the deal in moving the stock market was 1933. The first things I want are high-quality resources, the absence of liability and the presence of cash. For instance, we have a huge position in Forest City Enterprises. Another way of describing net asset value is what a company would bring in a takeover. But more important than cheap is safe.
Forest City has a lot of debt but it is nonrecourse.
In other words, the debt is on individual properties. The lender can't come against the parent company if there's a default. Earnings are vastly overrated. No smart businessman treats one accounting number as more important than another. They are all part of the whole.