Did short-sellers make the market go down? Maybe, maybe not. But here's one stock they tried, and failed, to send into a tailspin: Fairfax Financial Holdings. From Labor Day through Oct 23, when the market fell 29%, Fairfax was up 18% on the New York Stock Exchange, from $216 to $255.rnFairfax is an insurance company in Toronto that took in $4.5 billion last year in net premiums on policies that cover property and casualty or reinsure other insurers' liabilities. It is the creation of V. Prem Watsa, 58, an immigrant from India and an investing genius. If not a genius, he is one of the luckiest gamblers around. He's been bearish for several years and by January had 80% of his firm's $20 billion portfolio in cash and U.S. Treasurys.
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