Francis Chou immigrated to Canada in 1976 with $200 to his name. Without a college degree, Chou worked as a telephone repairman for Bell Canada, then formed an investment club with co-workers after reading about Benjamin Graham's teachings. Today, Chou is the fund manager of Chou Mutual Funds. Below are his answers to questions from GuruFocus readers.

Commodities have been in a severe bear market for the last three years. What are your thoughts on the valuation of base metal and energy companies at the moment?

They are still too expensive. However, some of the bonds of energy companies are quite cheap. For example, one good buy appears to be Exco's 8.5% 2022. It is trading at 64 cents on a dollar, which I think is a great price. As a caveat, I would feel more secure if I could buy a basket of these types of securities rather than just Exco. Also, you have to keep in mind that

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