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Demand for private jets is way down and NetJets will lay off almost 500 pilots as a result -- almost 20% of its staff of 3,000 pilots. because of a decrease in demand. NetJets is a unit of investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway

Warren Buffett, the second richest man in the world and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A), doesn't have much faith in the future of print media. In an interview on CNBC's Nov. 3 "Squawk Box," following the announcement of his purchase of Burlington Northern (NYSE:BNI), Buffett was asked to comment on the future of news media, in particular newspapers and business news by "Squawk Box" co-host Becky Quick. Buffett is optimistic on the future of business news. "Our system has just gotten started," Buffett said. "I mean, we've had a couple of hundred years of progress, but we have not exhausted...

Buffett's Big Bet: $34B On 2nd-Largest Railroad Freight expectations: Warren Buffett goes `all-in' with $34B bet on railroads and the economy By Samantha Bomkamp,November 3, 2009 NEW YORK (AP) -- The biggest name in investing is making what he calls an "all-in wager" on the U.S. economy -- $34 billion to own a railroad that hauls everything from corn to cars across the country. The acquisition of Burlington Northern Santa Fe, the nation's second-largest railroad, would be the biggest ever for Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway investment company. It's a natural fit for the Oracle of Omaha, a city with a...

What is your opinion on Buffett's move to buy Burlington Northern today, and was this move part of a much larger (0bama) plan? How will this impact the man on the street, good, bad, don't care? Remember, Buffett backed Obama for president.

Warren Buffett said his firm's purchase of railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe is an "all-in wager" on the U.S. NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Warren Buffett said he's making an "all-in wager on the economic future of the United States" with the purchase of railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe. Let's hope it's a bet that Buffett wins.

Buffett Tapes a Testimonial for Ms. Li; President Hu's Wardrobe in the Closet America's foremost capitalist may not have much in common with China's top Communist, but Warren Buffett and Hu Jintao do appear to share the same clothier. Move over Brioni, the truly rich and powerful are wearing Trands. The obscure menswear label is produced by Dayang Group, a clothing company founded by Li Guilian, 63 years old, a diminutive farmer-turned-fashion mogul, in northeast China. Ms. Li's company got a major boost after Mr. Buffett, chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., recently appeared in a Dayang promotional...

Ralph Nader has been many things: lawyer, consumer-rights bulldog, political activist and perennial third-party presidential candidate. He has now added a new title to his business card: fiction writer. His latest book, Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us!, is a 700-page populist fantasy in which a small group of billionaires and media moguls — led by Warren Buffett and including Ted Turner, George Soros, Bill Cosby, Yoko Ono and Phil Donahue — pool their massive resources to reform the U.S. With the help of a $15 billion war chest and a p.r. campaign starring a talking parrot, the group successfully...

Short seller Jim Chanos is bearish on major pharmecutical companies. Warren Buffett is long pharmaceuticals. This creates the interesting situation of the top long investor, Buffett, versus the top short investor, Chanos, being on opposites side of a major trade. Buffett owns more than 3.9 million shares of Sanofi Aventis and he holds 1.51 million shares of GlaxoSmithkline. Chanos recently told an Australian radio station: The US healthcare system is probably the most interesting large group of companies that are heading for major problems that we've seen in a long, long time. Healthcare is growing now at about 10 per...

Warren E. Buffett has two cardinal rules of investing. Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Never forget Rule No. 1. Well, a lot of old rules got trashed when the financial crisis struck — even for the Oracle of Omaha. At 79, Mr. Buffett is coming off the worst year of his long, storied career. On paper, he personally lost an estimated $25 billion in the financial panic of 2008, enough to cost him his title as the world’s richest man. (His friend and sometime bridge partner, Bill Gates, now holds that honor, according to Forbes.) And...

Flu Pandemic 2009-2010: Boost Your Immune System [Update August 2009: Unfortunately my prediction came true about there being a flu pandemic this fall and winter. I made that prediction back in January based on astrological, synchronistic, and political factors, and wrote this research note in early March. The swine flu hit the news in April. I am leaving most of this article alone for posterity, except I have improved the section below on dietary changes and boosting the immune system]. Chances are high that there will be a flu pandemic within a year, especially during fall and winter of...

In a NY Times Op Ed this week, the financial guru of gurus, Warren Buffett warned of the dangers of the Federal Deficit: The United States economy is now out of the emergency room and appears to be on a slow path to recovery. But enormous dosages of monetary medicine continue to be administered and, before long, we will need to deal with their side effects. For now, most of those effects are invisible and could indeed remain latent for a long time. Still, their threat may be as ominous as that posed by the financial crisis itself. ...no one...

Here is video of Stuart Varney talking about Warren Buffett's warning in a New York Times op-ed that the Obama Administration must stop the rise in our National Debt or America runs the risk of becoming a "Bananna Republic." Here's what Buffett said: I want to emphasize that there is nothing evil or destructive in an increase in debt that is proportional to an increase in income or assets. As the resources of individuals, corporations and countries grow, each can handle more debt. The United States remains by far the most prosperous country on earth, and its debt-carrying capacity will...

Warren Buffett warns budget deficit may harm dollar Warren Buffett has given warning that the US’s $1.8 trillion (£1.1 trillion) budget deficit could harm the purchasing power of the dollar, even though he admits the American economy “appears to be on a slow path to recovery”. James Quinn 19 Aug 2009 Warren Buffett admitted that the American economy "appears to be on a slow path to recovery" Mr Buffett, the world’s second-richest man and famed for his ability to make astute investments, believes that the “gusher of federal money” flowing in to the US economy could eventually fuel inflation and...

To understand this threat, we need to look at where we stand historically. If we leave aside the war-impacted years of 1942 to 1946, the largest annual deficit the United States has incurred since 1920 was 6 percent of gross domestic product. This fiscal year, though, the deficit will rise to about 13 percent of G.D.P., more than twice the non-wartime record. In dollars, that equates to a staggering $1.8 trillion. Fiscally, we are in uncharted territory. Because of this gigantic deficit, our country’s “net debt” (that is, the amount held publicly) is mushrooming. During this fiscal year, it will...

Warren Buffett is back with a new piece in the New York Times, but today he's not using the high-profile platform to explicitly urge us all to buy stocks as he did last October. But there's still a big "buy" recommendation implicit in the dollar doomsday scenario he lays out in his latest op-ed. In The Greenback Effect, Buffett details his ongoing warning that the "enormous dosages of monetary medicine" being used to rescue the U.S. economy will eventually produce a dangerous "side effect." He worries there won't be enough borrowers ready and able to absorb the nation's growing debt...

As cool as his demeanor is, you really have to figure that Warren Buffett had stuck to his strict, no-derivatives-for-me attitude he seemed to hold all that time. Reuters: Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc underestimated the risks of falling stock prices to its billions of dollars of derivatives bets, yet still believes it is valuing the contracts fairly. Berkshire revealed its error in a June 26 letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, one of several pieces of correspondence with the regulator about the company's annual report, and made public on Thursday. The key issue: The derivatives contracts are...

Billionaire investor's spending on equities fell to its lowest in more than five years Mr Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway owned about $11.1bn in foreign government bonds in its insurance units at the end of June, up from $9.6bn three months months earlier, Berkshire said in a regulatory filing, according to a report on Bloomberg. In the second quarter, Mr Buffett spent $2.6bn on bonds compared with $350m on shares. The billionaire investor, whose views on financial markets are closely followed around the world, has benefitted as equity markets rallied over the past three months. “Some of the normal places he’s gotten...

It seems my previous article has garnered a bit of criticism from someone I hold in rather high regard, indicating that perhaps I have been less than clear in my criticism. Let me be clear: There is nothing wrong with making a lot of money, and leveraging your wealth into making even more money! It doesn't surprise me that those with lots of money get "special dispensation" in the form of conversations with Treasury Secretaries and other members of the government. The "little people" - that is you and I - will never get that sort of treatment, simply because...

The attack on Warren Buffett continues. The latest to jump on the pile is Karl Denninger. He makes the charge that Buffett may have taken advantage of taxpayers, when buying his stake in Goldman Sachs: ...was he really just making a bet? The evidence says otherwise; Warren's statements both at the time and later one made clear that he had every expectation, and perhaps even inside information, that the government would not allow these firms to fail. That is, he didn't make a bet - he jumped in front of the taxpayer, a form of legal "front running", to garner...

Who doesn't love the image Warren Buffett projects in the media? The beloved stock-picker, with his mantra "buy smart, sell never", has become an American icon. He preaches the free market, capitalism, smart business practices and running a tight ship. He lives frugally in a modest home, doesn't flash his (extreme) wealth and claims that through hard work and dedication one can succeed in America. And now, Berkshire is set to report what may be the best quarter in his firm's history. The truth is somewhat different. Buffett has repeatedly used his influence to exempt himself from laws that apply...

Reuters' Rolfe Winkler is all over Warren Buffett, and justifiably so. “Were it not for government bailouts, for which Buffett lobbied hard,” writes Winker, “many of his company’s stock holdings would have been wiped out." Winker totaled up the direct benefit to companies Buffett owned stock in., where he owned sizable minority stakes, $95 billion in Troubled Asset Relief funding was doled out. Aside from the nearly $100 billion in taxpayer aid extended to Buffett’s holdings — which include Wells Fargo, Bank of America, American Express and Goldman Sachs — his companies also benefit from $130 billion in FDIC backing...

When I was 14, Warren Buffett wrote me a letter. It was a response to one I’d sent him, pitching an investment idea. For a kid interested in learning stocks, Buffett was a great role model. His investing style — diligent security analysis, finding competent management, patience — was immediately appealing. Buffett was kind enough to respond to my letter, thanking me for it and inviting me to his company’s annual meeting. I was hooked. Today, Buffett remains famous for investing The Right Way. He even has a television cartoon in the works, which will groom the next generation of...

... Buffett, a supporter of President Barack Obama during last year's election campaign, said a second economic stimulus package might be needed. The Obama administration says it does not see a need for a second stimulus yet. "I think a second one may well be called for. It is not a panacea. A stimulus is the right thing. You hope it doesn't get watered down," he said. He likened the first $787 billion stimulus package passed by Congress to "half a tablet of Viagra and then having also a bunch of candy mixed in --- it doesn't have really quite...

Here is video of a Good Morning America interview with billionaire Warren Buffett where he said he suspects the unemployment rate could hit 11%, but said he believed the United States will come out of this stronger than ever. Buffett also said a second Stimulus Bill "very well may be needed," but hoped it would be more effective than the first Stimulus Bill which Buffett described as being like "a half a Viagra pill with candy mixed in." Buffett said we are no where near the end of this recession. . . . . (Watch Video)

The New Jacobin Elite | Print | Written by William F. Jasper    Wednesday, 24 June 2009 06:00 The Socialist Party of Great Britain is celebrating the reissuing of Peter Taaffe’s book, The Masses Arise: The Great French Revolution 1789 -1815. “Its republication by Socialist Publications, in time for the 220th anniversary of this great event in July 2009, is extremely timely,� says the party’s website. A different page on the party’s site promoting the same book instructs readers: “An understanding of the French Revolution remains crucial for all revolutionaries. Marx, Engels, Lenin and Trotsky studied it intensely to gain an...

CNBC: In a live interview on CNBC today, Warren Buffett said there has been little progress over the past few months in the "economic war" being fought by the country. "We haven't got the economy moving yet." While the economy is a "shambles" and likely to stay that way for some time, he remains optimistic there will eventually be a recovery over a period of years.

Gasoline markets exhibited the first signs that an extended rally in pump prices is nearing an end after 52 straight days on the rise. Gasoline futures started falling midweek after a government report showed a huge surplus. Already, wholesale gasoline prices in key markets like the Gulf Coast and Chicago had begun to fade. Should prices continue to fall on the New York Mercantile Exchange, cheaper gas may be on the way for motorists.

Even billionaire Warren Buffett’s companies can’t escape the recession. He runs Omaha-based Berkshire Hathaway, which owns Borsheim’s jewelry. And its spokeswoman confirmed Tuesday that it has laid off 13 employees. Borsheim’s spokeswoman Adrienne Fay says sales have been falling since November, forcing the layoffs. She says the company now has 267 workers. Borsheim’s President Susan Jacques called the layoffs devastating. In last month’s report on its first quarter, Berkshire acknowledged that many of its businesses — its jewelry stores, Shaw carpet, Acme Brick and Clayton Homes — have been hurt by the recession and corresponding slowdown in consumer spending.

February 3, 2006: The DOJ indicted ex-AIG honcho Maurice Greenberg's former execs in a probe of complex reinsurance deals. General Re, a crown jewel in the portfolio of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway had three of its senior execs indicted. Christian Milton, former head of AIG's massive reinsurance operations, indicted on 13 counts of aiding and abetting securities fraud; former General Re CEO Ronald Ferguson, former CFO Elizabeth Monrad and Robert Graham, assistant general counsel. "The scheme was designed to mislead analysts and the investing public," said an assistant US attorney. Federal prosecutors said AIG paid General Re $5.2M — via...

Last fall, Obama's campaign commercials touted his endorsement from iconic investor Warren Buffett. In his speeches, he referred to "my friend Warren Buffett" and said, "Warren Buffett is one of those people that I listen to." In the third presidential debate, Obama agreed with McCain's suggestion that "Warren would make a pretty good choice" for Treasury Secretary.

Moody’s downgrades Berkshire Hathaway By Justin Baer in New York Published: April 9 2009 00:41 | Last updated: April 9 2009 00:41 Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway lost its triple-A grade from Moody’s Investors Service, the very ratings firm in which the billionaire holds a 20 per cent stake. The downgrade, which follows Fitch Ratings’ one-notch cut last month, comes as Berkshire seeks to rebound from its worst year since the “Sage of Omaha” took control of the former textiles maker in 1965. Moody’s dropped Berkshire two notches, to double-A2. “Today’s rating actions reflect the impact on Berkshire’s key businesses of...

Warren Buffett big beneficiary of bank bailout funds By Charles Piller Apr. 4, 2009 - 6:08 pm Financier Warren Buffett has been lauded for his plain-spoken denunciation of the greed and foolishness behind the economic crisis. He has pushed the massive federal bailout of imploding banks as the essential response to an "economic Pearl Harbor." When Buffett speaks, people in high places listen. The famous investor is so highly regarded that in a debate last fall, both presidential candidates said they were considering him for treasury secretary. A Bee examination of regulatory records shows that Buffett, the world's second-wealthiest person,...

Embattled Treasury boss Tim Geithner could as soon as Monday pull back the curtain on a plan to purge the country's financial giants of the more than $1 trillion in toxic assets at the heart of the economic crisis. Geithner's strategy is expected to pursue at least two, maybe three, separate tracks all of which will require commitments from the private sector and are designed to create markets for assets that so far have been shunned by would-be investors because they're hard to value. One tack could involve the creation of an entity backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp....

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway was stripped of its 'AAA' credit rating by Fitch, barely hours after S&P cut General Electric's top-tier rating, as the global financial crisis pummels America's corporate titans. Warren Buffett CNBC.com Warren Buffett Citing concerns about Berkshire's [BRK 83150.00 -2550.00 (-2.98%) ] equity and derivatives investments, as well as Buffett's tight grip on the company, ratings agency Fitch cut the insurance and investment company's issuer default rating by one notch to 'AA+'. The downgrade is another setback to Buffett, 78, coming a day after the billionaire lost his position as the world's richest man to Microsoft [MSFT...

Warren Buffett has waded into the debate about a cap-and-trade system for slowing greenhouse gas emissions in the United States — something for which President Obama is pushing hard. Interviewed today on CNBC (transcript), Mr. Buffett responded to a question about cap-and-trade by saying that regulated utilities would pass the costs on to customers, effectively resulting in a carbon tax. “In the utility business, it’s going to be borne by customers. And it’s a tax like anything else,” he said. Mr. Buffett, the chief executive of the conglomerate holding company Berkshire Hathaway, also said that the “tax is probably going...

'I don't want him to fail' By: David Rogers March 9, 2009 07:45 PM EST After a losing presidential campaign in 2000, John McCain came back to the Senate and established himself as a force no White House could ignore. Eight years later, he’s home from defeat again, facing a very different landscape dominated by President Barack Obama and the collapsing American economy. From Afghanistan and Iraq to military procurement reform, McCain tells POLITICO he is already working with Obama. Last week alone, he had breakfast with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, appeared with the president at a White House press...

IN LETTER, ORACLE ADMITS TO ERRORS IN WORST-EVER '08 Warren Buffett admitted to doing some "dumb things" in 2008 - the worst year for Berkshire Hathaway in the 44 years he has run it. A brutal stock market decline amid a teeth-gnashing recession pushed Omaha-based Berkshire to a 96% drop in profits, its fifth straight quarterly earnings decline. Buffett, known as the Oracle of Omaha for his decades-long record of picking value investments, said buying ConocoPhillips shares when gas and oil prices were at their peak was perhaps the dumbest move in 2008. Berkshire bought 84.9 million shares at $82...

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett predicted Saturday that "the nation's economy will be in shambles throughout 2009" and probably "well beyond." In his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shareholders, Buffett said the credit crisis and falling housing and stock prices have led to "paralyzing fear."

ZURICH (AFP) – The world's biggest reinsurer Swiss Re turned to Wall Street sage Warren Buffett for fresh funds Thursday after massive losses while Zurich Financial earnings plunged due to the global financial crisis . Swiss Re shares tumbled on the news, with the stock down 28.1 percent at 21.7 francs by close of trading while the overall Swiss Market Index fell by 2.3 percent. The insurance sector woes dealt another blow to Switzerland's prized status as a major world financial centre, already under pressure after colossal losses and writedowns incurred by the country's biggest banks, UBS and Credit Suisse....

"All good things must come to an end, but all bad things can continue forever." -- Unknown Last week, I suggested that Warren Buffett's star was crashing back to earth. Barron's Senior Editor Andrew Bary penned a similar piece over the weekend. Armed with some additional information, I have made tentative conclusions regarding the intrinsic value of Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK.A Quote - Cramer on BRK.A - Stock Picks) common shares. At year-end 2007, Berkshire's investment portfolio had a cost of $39.2 billion and a market value of $75 billion. Since the end of third quarter 2008, the value of Berkshire's...

The worst economic turmoil since the Great Depression is not a natural phenomenon but a man-made disaster in which we all played a part.In the second part of a week-long series looking behind the slump,Guardian City editor Julia Finch picks out the individuals who have led us into the current crisis Alan Greenspan, chairman of US Federal Reserve 1987- 2006Only a couple of years ago the long-serving chairman of the Fed, a committed free marketeer who had steered the US economy through crises ranging from the 1987 stockmarket collapse through to the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, was lauded with...

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett says the U.S. is engaged in an "economic Pearl Harbor." In an interview that aired Sunday on "Dateline NBC," the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said the nation's economic situation is not as bad at World War II or the Great Depression, but it's still pretty severe. "You couldn't have anybody better in charge," the Omaha resident said of Obama, who'll be sworn into office on Tuesday. As one of Obama's economic advisers, Buffett said the president-elect listens to what his advisers say, but ultimately comes up with better ideas. He predicted that Obama...

I can understand why Warren Buffett wanted to teach Nicole Buffett, who gets by on $40,000 a year she earns as an artist and reportedly goes without health insurance, that she should not act like a spoiled brat. But the punishment did not fit the crime. The letter he wrote Nicole seems especially cold: "I have not emotionally or legally adopted you as a grandchild, nor have the rest of my family adopted you as a niece or a cousin," the magazine quotes the letter as saying. "He signed the letter 'Warren'."

Open Letter to Warren Buffett Now I don’t normally post and I have no idea how to send a letter to Warren Buffett the billionaire yet it’s still a free country I hope. We clearly know that President elect Obama has eyes on the wealthiest peoples money so he can spread the wealth thus as he says, “build the wealth from the bottom up”. So we can expect major tax increases to help in his dream, which will put many small business owners in metal anguish. You are big supporter of the Democrat Party and the new President, which is...

The 22nd annual Women's Conference came to Long Beach on Wednesday and, at least at the beginning, men stole the show. The conference got off to a humorous start during what was billed as a "once in a lifetime conversation" between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and billionaire investor extraordinaire Warren Buffett, moderated by television political talk show host Chris Matthews. But what could have been austere talk about falling stock prices and glass ceilings drew laughter and gasps from many of the 10,000 women in the audience when Buffett, playing to the crowd, hit Matthews with a particularly challenging question: "If...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- During the third and final presidential debate last week, Barack Obama mentioned investment guru Warren Buffet as a financial advisor. Obama called Buffet a "my friend and supporter," but failed to mention Buffet has given millions of dollars to pro-abortion groups.Buffett is the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway and, due to public pressure from pro-life advocates, Berkshire Hathaway announced in June 2003 that it would end all corporate charitable donations.Prior to that, through his Buffett Foundation, Buffett supported the most radical aspects of the population control movement such as providing $2 million to fund clinical...

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett used a guest commentary article in the New York Times on Friday to announce that he's sticking with stocks. Buffett, the so-called Oracle of Omaha for his ability to buy up the right companies at the right time for his holding company Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A), said the worst may not be over for the fledgling economy. "In the near term, unemployment will rise, business activity will falter and headlines will continue to be scary," Buffett wrote. But for that reason, the Berkshire CEO said, he has converted his personal portfolio almost entirely to U.S. stocks. Previously,...

Election '08: Why would a man linked with the Wall Street culture Barack Obama hates top his list for Treasury chief? Obama knows something many don't about billionaire Warren Buffett.Despite his storied investing prowess, Buffett is a liberal who sees eye-to-eye with Obama on economic policy. That's why he's contributed $4,600 to Obama's campaign — along with $28,500 to the DNC — and not a dime to John McCain or Republicans during this election cycle. During the Nashville debate, Obama put forth an ideological litmus for the Treasury job, a post that has taken on even more importance amid the...

Billionaire Warren Buffett, calling turmoil in the markets an "economic Pearl Harbor," said his $5 billion investment in Goldman Sachs Group is an endorsement of the Treasury's $700 billion bank rescue plan. "I am betting on the Congress doing the right thing for the American public and passing this bill," Buffett said on cable channel CNBC Wednesday. "I certainly have a vote of confidence in Goldman and vote of confidence in Congress." Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke are pushing Congress to quickly approve the proposal to remove illiquid assets from the banking system. Buffett is...