What is interesting here is the international aspect.
Berkshire is being investigated by other countries.
This should send chills up the backs of any fund manager, fund company and their boards not to play PC games instead of investing on sound principals."
With all due respect to you sir, that may be a little excessive.
A couple of years ago, I took a number of Annual Reports for large public companies in which I am interested, and ordered their annual SEC filings; restated the Annual Report numbers to a realistic GAAP income statement. Berkshire was the only company that gives you an honest financial statement.
And in doing that, I looked at General Re--and concluded that accounting for a reinsurance entity of this character is an almost impossible task--the presentation of financial results in the Berkshire filings is in my view realistic and directed to an accurate accounting for the results of operations. Maybe not free from error but free from intended misrepresentation in an effort to make an accurate report.
I am not a defender of Buffett's politics; and if you read his published pronouncements on management and investing, he does not always do it the way he says to do it. However his business practices and objectives are to return the most and best results for his shareholders and over the term, he has been very effective. He is an honorable steward of the shareholder's assets and that is unusual in the modern business world.
I have said here on numerous occasions including one time very shortly after he did it that his bet against the dollar was premature and wrong. Although many knowledgable investment managers feel the greatest threat to their financial position is the effort by the Federal Reserve to debase the American dollar, the fed has been ineffective on that effort as it has been in connection with long term management of the monetary base. And the end game is likely to reward Mr. Buffet as correct on the longer term issue.
Oh I think that if his losses re shorting the dollar ever get to civil courts, he will lose his left wing A$$!
The he pulls this stupid "shorting the Dollar" and almost paralleling George Soros in his desperately trying to damage Bush... Good greif!!! I sure hope you're not trying to be an apologist for the half-blind "Oracle of Omaha!" Hear that giant flushing sound? That's a lot of his credibility going right into the leech field!!!