Warren Buffett 02 (Feb 10 - May 15)

[winston]

WB: Buy when others are fearful and vice versa.

So are the lemmings fearful enough, for you to start buying ?

This round, everyone is an expert in "sell first, investigate later"

[winston]

Succession, derivatives on tap in Buffett letter byBen Berkowitz

Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway <BRKa.N> will release its letter about the previous year at 8 a.m. EST on Saturday, just as it has done in most years past. That will give investors the whole weekend to digest the 20 or so pages of detail from the 80-year-old "Oracle of Omaha."

Yoshikami said he is hoping for some answers as to why Berkshire's equity portfolio shrank to only 25 stocks in the fourth quarter.

Berkshire had more than $34 billion cash at September 30, and while Buffett famously likes having a big cushion, some wonder if he is gearing up for an acquisition.

Source: Reuters US Online Report Business News

[winston]

Warren Buffett is super-bullish and looking to make "major acquisitions"

Warren Buffett said he's looking for "more major acquisitions" after the economic recovery and the purchase of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad helped increase fourth-quarter profit at his Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

"Our elephant gun has been reloaded, and my trigger finger is itchy," Buffett said of the outlook for deals in his annual letter to shareholders on Feb. 26.

Buffett, 80, is seeking takeovers as economic expansion boosts results at Berkshire's subsidiaries and near record-low interest rates limit the returns available in fixed-income markets. Net income in the three months ended Dec. 31 surged to $4.38 billion, Berkshire's highest quarterly profit since 2007.

"He's saying that the economy is turning and he's not as concerned about having the extra capital available for his own operating companies," said Gerald Martin, a finance professor at American University's Kogod School of Business in Washington. "That's a good sign."

"We could get lucky and find an opportunity to use some of our cash hoard at decent returns," Buffett said. "That day can't come too soon for me: To update Aesop, a girl in a convertible is worth five in the phone book."

Berkshire's units tied to home construction "continue to struggle," Buffett said. "A housing recovery will probably begin within a year or so. In any event, it is certain to occur at some point."

"Commentators today often talk of 'great uncertainty,'" Buffett wrote. "Don't let that reality spook you. Throughout my lifetime, politicians and pundits have constantly moaned about terrifying problems facing America. Yet our citizens now live an astonishing six times better than when I was born."


Source: Bloomberg

[winston]

Here is the Forbes 2011 ranking of the top 10:

3. Warren Buffett (USA) - $50 billion, Berkshire Hathaway

Buffett, 80, has run his Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate since 1965. Its interests run from railroads to ice cream.

In 2006 he pledged to give away 99 percent of his wealth to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and family charities.

So far he has given $8 billion to the Gates Foundation.


Source: Reuters

[winston]

Warren Buffett – the world’s greatest investor – recently told CNBC:

“I’m 100% enormously optimistic about the future for this country. There’s no way you can bet against America and win…

We’ve unleashed human potential and will continue to do so. Twenty years from now, your kids and grandchildren will live far better than you live.”


Source: Investment U

[winston]

Warren Buffett: Inflation will crush this popular income investment

Warren Buffett, the billionaire who urged Congress in 2009 to guard against inflation, said investors should avoid long-term fixed-income bets in U.S. dollars because the currency's purchasing power will decline.

"I would recommend against buying long-term fixed-dollar investments," Buffett, chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., said today in New Delhi.

"If you ask me if the U.S. dollar is going to hold its purchasing power fully at the level of 2011, 5 years, 10 years or 20 years from now, I would tell you it will not."

Buffett, 80, has shortened the duration of Omaha, Nebraska- based Berkshire's bond holdings since 2009 as the U.S. Federal Reserve eased monetary policy to stimulate the economy. Over the same period, he has added to cash holdings and committed more than $35 billion to company takeovers.

"I would much rather own businesses," he said. "It's very easy to take away the value of fixed-dollar investments."


Source: Bloomberg

[winston]

Investment guru Buffett dispenses wisdom in India by Penny MacRae

"When I give away my Berkshire Hathaway shares, they have no utility to me and great utility to others (who are poorer)."

Buffett, who made his billions by buying stocks at bargain prices, also handed out some tips to eager Indian investors.

"My advice is to invest in what you understand -- and when you're not paying the right price don't buy," said Buffett, who got wall-to-wall Indian TV coverage.

On world recovery and the Japanese earthquake and tsunami disaster, he was sanguine.

"The economy of America, United States and others around the world are improving month-by-month," he said. "It might not be quite as fast as everybody would like but it is happening."

Buffett added that he thought global economies would only be "slightly affected" by the deadly earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

He said the Japanese disaster will set the country "back for a while" but "they will come back."

"The number of people, the buying power they are gaining, the ability to produce things, everything is getting better," he said.


Source: AFP Global Edition

[tonylim]

Buffett Says Employment to Gain on Housing By Andrew Frye

July 8 (Bloomberg) -- Warren Buffett, chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., talks about the outlook for the U.S. housing market and employment. Buffett, speaking with Betty Liu on Bloomberg Television's "In the Loop," also discusses President Barack Obama's policies and continued negotiations on a U.S. deficit plan. The speak from the Allen & Co. conference in Sun Valley, Idaho. (This is an excerpt of the full interview. Source: Bloomberg)

Billionaire Warren Buffett said U.S. employment will surge with the eventual rebound of the housing market.

“We will come back big time on employment when residential construction comes back,” Buffett told Bloomberg Television’s Betty Liu on the “In the Loop” program today, in an interview from Sun Valley, Idaho. The unemployment rate will drop to 6 percent “within a few years,” he said.

Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK*censored*) added about 3,000 jobs last year after cutting more than 20,000 positions in 2009. The company employed about 260,000 people at units from insurance and shipping to consumer goods and energy, Berkshire said in February. Employment gained last year at Berkshire units including car insurer Geico and railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe. Staffing fell at carpet-maker Shaw Industries.

“Jobs come with demand,” Buffett said today. “We’re seeing demand a lot of places but we’re not seeing it in the construction field.”


Source: Bloomberg

[winston]

CHART OF THE WEEK: WARREN BUFFETT VERSUS GOLD

This week's chart shows how Warren Buffett is falling even farther behind gold.

Back in April, we noted that despite gold's "real money" attributes… its vital role as "crisis insurance"… and its giant uptrend, the metal still has detractors. One of the highest profile detractors is superinvestor Warren Buffett. Several times over the past few years, Buffett has publicly scoffed at the idea of owning gold.

While we're fans of Buffett's wealth-building abilities, we have to point out how listening to him has been a losing deal over the past eight years… especially considering the performance of his investment company Berkshire Hathaway.

This week's chart displays the performance of Berkshire Hathaway (black line) since stocks bottomed in 2003 versus the performance of gold during the same time (gold line).

When we checked in on "Buffett vs. gold" in April, gold had outperformed Buffett 350% to 75%. The past week has stretched this "gold beats Buffett" ratio even further.

Due to its big exposure to financial stocks, derivatives, and economically sensitive businesses, Berkshire plummeted to a new yearly low this week… while gold soared to an all-time high. Buffett vs. gold? No contest!

www.dailywealth.com

[millionairemind]

S&P Erred in Cutting U.S. Rating: Buffett

By Betty Liu and Andrew Frye - Aug 7, 2011 7:56 AM GMT+0800

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-0 ... ssion.html