First off The Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland, One of three major banks in Ireland. Over the last year the shares have posted an aggregate loss of $58.97. As of today January 13th 2009 they trade at 4.75 a share. A loss of 92% in value. Obviously as most of you know businesses aren't very accurately valued at certain points and I think this is one of them. Ben Graham said, "The market at times is a voting machine but over long periods is a weighing machine." Well this company although does have a significant portion of it's equity invested in Irish mortgages and loans trades and significant turmoil ahead is certain, if you look past the macro level and onto the business itself, it still trades at at valuation of .50 of it's cash flow and .06 of it's stated book value. It's a classic cigar butt stock in my eyes. Soggy, undesirable to most, but free. It's trading at 6% of what the entire company is worth if liquidated. Take one puff and throw it away. Just remember, although I have a significant portion of my net worth in it, I'm not necessarily condoning the fact that it should be bought under any circumstances. More so if you find you can buy it at a price level that is so unduly low that it is certain to have the margin of error so that you can sleep soundly at night. This may be something to look at. Now with that said, W.B. stated, "Time is the friend of the wonderful business, enemy of the sub par." Definitely keep that in mind.