Posted on 09/13/2010 11:13:55 AM PDT by blam
Buffett: I See A Huge Recovery Across All Of Our Businesses Happening Right Now
Joe Weisenthal
Sep. 13, 2010, 1:57 PM
Warren Buffett has never been too pessimistic on the economy, though he's never been one to see consensus on the way up.
Throughout 2009, as the media saw more and more green shoots, the word ouf ot Berkshire Hathaway was one of skepticism.
This year his tone has mostly been one of caution.
And now that the media is obsessed with the double-dip scenario?
Bloomberg:
“I am a huge bull on this country,” Buffett, Berkshire’s chief executive officer, said today in remarks to the Montana Economic Development Summit. “We will not have a double-dip recession at all. I see our businesses coming back almost across the board.”
...
“I’ve seen sentiment turn sour in the last three months or so, generally in the media,” Buffett said. “I don’t see that in our businesses. I see we’re employing more people than a month ago, two months ago.”
Buffett of course is extremely diversified, from finance, to housing, to rail (we noted last week that he's probably up $14 billion already on his Burlington Norther bet), so there's really no slice of the economy he can't see firsthand.
If he thinks the real economy isn't matching the rhetoric, that's to be taken seriously.
[snip]
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
As one of our branch managers told the CEO the other day. “Were still doing 3 million a month, the only problem is now it’s worth 2.”
The wealthy can always afford the best crack.
Got all of what you say, but a board member can know in considerable advance of events/decisions that affect outcome, despite filing requirements etc. That is the way one has always made serious money on the exchange since its inception. Foreknowledge for shorts or longs.
Insider Selling Outpaces Buying By Over 650-To-1 In Past Week
How certain can one be that he does not do that. Other than his espoused belief in buying, holding and supposedly never selling anything- which is clear has not happened in the past as “Berkshire” takes positions. Profit from dividends only? In any case it is a nice layer of facade. I trust no-one like him, Soros, Gates... several others including the Agha Khan or Ibn Talaweed. The ballfield of these type of players( along with Golden Slacks) has never been level.
This is the Obama/Democrat/Communist/Soros firewall. 6-7 weeks out from the election and the market is up. Profits are up. Etc., etc.
2008 tanked. 6 weeks out. Same groups.
What’s his biggest businesses??
Answer; Insurance, all types.
In the sense that any risk capitalist “earns” anything. Charting is hard work, made much easier when you “own” a company and can steer your market actions accordingly.
As far as modesty— read his and Bill Gates plan to “share the wealth” and his absolutely annoying support of obambi’s same philosophy. Go ahead Warren, you first...give it all away. I’m all for profit and people who are honest in how they make it. The self-righteous sanctimony is a little hard to take, especially from one so positioned across the ownership society. Buffett in this instance is helping obama, and having met last week with Bernanke, is doing the Reserve’s business of painting rosy sunsets, while they print money. He wins either way. But here in the real world....we serve at the pleasure of the oligarchs who are devaluing our money.
He is not ‘self made’ nearly to the degree as many people I know who came from blue collar backgrounds, or abusive backgrounds, and worked their way to positions that allow them to contribute substantively in the world. He was born into wealth, and made money playing with other people's money. That doesn't make him bad, and I appreciate that others have been employed on the basis of his wealth, but he has achieved much less in my book than those who fit the profile I was referring to. Some people measure how far and fast you've run on the basis of where you are in the pack at that moment. I think it's at least equally valid to evaluate how far and fast you've run by comparing where you are to where you started. My point is that there is nothing about Buffett’s background that gives him any special validity with regards his political or economic pronouncements.
I agree with most of your thoughts and I certainly don’t like Buffet for his politics. His business philosophy though is to be admired. He buys companies that he believes are inherently undervalued and as you said he does not sell. He builds. He makes his money by increasing the value of his companies which increases the value of Berkshire and his shares reflect that. I don’t see why the playing field isn’t level and really doesn’t much pertian to him and how he conducts his business. I can’t find fault with the man professionally. He seems as ethical a business tycoon as one can possibly be. Disinheriting his kids and becoming such a liberal leming don’t really do much for me but I have to respect him for what he’s done and still doing.
If this is accurate, it’s because the business community, as well as Main Street, is becoming convinced that the Tea Party is going to help put a stop to the madness on Nov. 2. It’s the potential for a political seachange that is driving whatever uptick there is in confidence in the economy.
Understand your thoughts re: ethics. Agree about the disinheritance, but I don’t know his kin’s attributes. One key missing ingredient in Buffetts comments, and which stands to net him a pretty penny— is the collapse of Fannie and Freddie. This smoke and mirrors approach to their catastrophic losses is shameful. These units should be written down (just like the banks should have been) to pennies on the dollar and then put on the market. Instead, Buffett and others are propping up the Fed for yet another money printing reward for absolutely criminal behaviour. The false economy will remain false and Buffett is singing the praises of the false facade economy. As they say, a “jobless” recovery. See what Arthur Laffer has to say about that. Us country boys have laid in 3-4 years of stock and supplies for the urban rage at such devaluation of currency. Gold today, jumping again. I don’t buy gold. I buy stuff people will NEED.
Hope youre wrong but not betting too much against you. We’ll have to see what Nov brings.
Alzheimer’s is a bite, isn’t it Buffet...
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