Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B) 319,851 shares worth almost $26 million.

Brookfield Properties Corporation (NYSE: BPO) 2,359,166 shares worth $36.2 million.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) 110,864 shares worth some $18.9 million.

Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: HNR) 4,771,814 shares worth about $35.9 million.

Horsehead Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: ZINC) 1,358,498 shares worth $16 million.

Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: IBKR) 94,104 shares worth $1.5 million.

International Coal Group, Inc. (NYSE: ICO) 2,512,570 shares worth almost $11.5 million.

Leucadia National Corp. (NYSE: LUK) 791,074 shares worth $19.6 million.

Pinnacle Airlines Corp. (NASDAQ: PNCL) 2,002,902 shares worth $14.9 million.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) 331,603 shares worth $39.5 million.

Teck Resources Ltd. (NYSE: TCK) 5,501 shares worth $245K…

Terex Corp. NYSE: TEX) 530,876 shares worth $12 million.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) 374,415 shares worth $11.6 million.

Other holdings are as follows:

• Capital Source Inc.  (?)
• Cresud S A  (CRESY)
• FAIRFAX FINL HLD SUB (FRFHF.PK)

JON C. OGG

From 24/7 Wall St. affiliate Heathcare Outsider

The New York Times reports that last month, GlaxoSmithKline (the pharmaceutical company that can do nothing right) recalled a popular dental adhesive called Super Poligrip from the market because it contained high levels of Zinc, and some people who used the cream had shown some adverse symptoms associated with the effects of Zinc poisoning (they were dying.) Zinc – you probably know it as the last ingredient listed on your unopened bottle of Centrum. You may also be familiar with its usage as an anti-corrosive, a component used to galvanize steel, and an adhesive agent in denture creams. What you probably didn’t know is that studies like this one (from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition) have identified the metal as a toxic agent, and that long-term exposure to it can lead to nerve damage, anemia, and death.

While most of the things that go wrong with GSK are accidents caused by whatever ancient curse was placed upon them, this might not be the case with not-so-Super Poligrip. Apparently, warnings about the potential side effects of Zinc have been available for quite some time (decades). Even more troubling, at least one of these, featured in the journal Neurology, directly cited dental cream as a potential vehicle for poisoning. GSK’s response to this was to insert a tiny pamphlet in Super Poligrip boxes suggesting people apply the cream sparingly. Considering the target audience for dental adhesives (people old enough to need dentures) this seems to be not unlike doing absolutely nothing.

Organizations like the American Dental Association are skeptical about all the to-do surrounding adhesives and Zinc poisoning. They suggest the victims were simply using far too much of the product, and were accidentally swallowing small quantities. At risk of sounding a little paternalistic, it doesn’t seem entirely fair to blame the elderly folks who haven’t done all their reading on the potential side effects of Zinc overexposure. It seems more likely that a company should consider its target audience when marketing a product that can potentially put you in a wheelchair or kill you if you don’t read the fine print.

Regardless, all’s well that ends well. we’re sure GSK will never market something again without exploring all possible side effects, and people with dentures can always use Procter & Gamble’s (PG) Fixodent, which only has half as much Zinc as Super Poligrip did. We’re sure that’s much safer.

Michael B. Sauter

• Cameco (NYSE: CCJ) continued uranium weakness after its Cigar Lake troubles persist… and persist… and persist…
• CVR Energy (NYSE: CVI)… energy and fertilizer, recent IPO, so long for the fun times; becoming one of the worse performing post-IPO’s over the last year.

• Edison International (NYSE: EIX)… becoming habitual to see power generation companies
• McDermott (NYSE: MDR) after naming new CEO; stock back above lows but hit new 52-week lows this morning.
• Silver Standard Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: SSRI), one of the many speculative metals plays on the list
• Horsehead Holdings (NASDAQ: ZINC), again… it’s hard not to give this one at least two nicknames.

Jon C. Ogg
August 15, 2008

• Altus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALTU) tanked after Phase III cystic fibrosis tests failed to please on all fronts.
• Apex Silver Mines (AMEX: SIL) fell nearly 40% after earnings disappointed.  At least they can use those mines for mushroom growth if they don’t find silver.

• Constellation Energy (NYSE: CEG) Fell over $11.00 to new 52-week lows after an analyst raised more questions about the company.
• Comverge (NASDAQ: COMV) fell on its sword after missing estimates and lowering targets on regulatory changes at a major client.
• Edison International NYSE: EIX) hit another 52-week low after selling $400M in bonds.
• Horsehead Holdings (NASDAQ: ZINC) hit new lows as earnings failedto give any inspiration.  Shares closed almost 5% under the prior rangeof $9.04 to $26.14.  With this stock name we could think of two newnicknames for the company, but we’ll be nice.
• Mirant (NYSE: MIR) Followed Edison to join the wall of shame again down 2% under prior 52-week lows.
• Zoltek Technologies (NASDAQ: ZOLT) was a shocker of an earningsdisappointment with wind power under question.  Shares fell to $15.52,well under the old $17.75 to $48.78 52-week range.

Jon C. Ogg
August 12, 2008