Buffetts trigger finger ...it's itchy

[deziloooooo]

It seems that Warren is getting antsy to spend a few bucks..also says Housing is going to get better this year...hope it means he see's some good deals and the turn around is coming faster then many thought..remember he would like to purchase at the low not the high...so possible good news here.

How much does he have top spend? Not much, just $38 Billion..think he could purchase a dew McDonald frachises , even throw in a Wendys or two.
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news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_buffett;_ylt=Ans98DlhvMuLz1jML97qLptH2ocA;_ylu=X3oDMTJ1djVmdWgzBGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMTEwMjI2L3VzX2J1ZmZldHQEY2NvZGUDbXBfZWNfOF8xMARjcG9zAzQEcG9zAzQEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yaWVzBHNsawN3aXRoMzhiaWxsaW8-
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With $38 billion cash, Warren Buffett looking for deals
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By Ben Berkowitz Ben Berkowitz – 31 mins ago

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Warren Buffett is looking for acquisitions as an outlet to deploy his $38 billion cash pile, the legendary investor said in his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway Inc shareholders on Saturday.

Buffett gave an aggressive earnings forecast for Berkshire's collection of businesses, said the company would engage in record capital spending and forecast a recovery in the housing market would start within a year.

Foremost, though, was his acknowledgment of the need for Berkshire to expand its non-insurance businesses, a broad collection that most prominently includes the railroad Burlington Northern and the electric utility MidAmerican.

"Our elephant gun has been reloaded, and my trigger finger is itchy," Buffett said. The letter was released just before 8 a.m. EST (1300 GMT on) Saturday, as it is in most years -- and many large investors say they get up early that day to read it the moment it comes online.

The so-called "Oracle of Omaha" said Berkshire will need "more major acquisitions" -- with an italicized emphasis on major -- to meet its goal.

One long-time Berkshire investor described the letter as "punchy" and "confidently American," among other things.

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{click on link to read article}

[Deleted]

Interesting deziloooooo. Buffett's know for holding a large cash position when he can't find anything he likes. My guess is that with the economy improving a lot of business's bottom line will change dramatically in the next 6 to 12 months. That could make a couple of them very attractive. I could sure see him snapping up a couple of companies.

[deziloooooo]

some would say another example of the wealthier getting wealthier, but here, he has the cash, and in his case , in time, the populouse will get some benefit if he coninues to give the $ away in time as his gifts to the people...

[Value Buy]

Feb 26, 2011 19:18:02 GMT -5 deziloooooo said:

some would say another example of the wealthier getting wealthier, but here, he has the cash, and in his case , in time, the populouse will get some benefit if he coninues to give the $ away in time as his gifts to the people...

Dezi, you do realize he is spending stock member equity to make these purchases. He is not spending his personal fortune.
That has already been spoken for thru the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, otherwise known as

"I made my fortune on the backs of American citizens paying exorbitant prices for my lousy performing software and will spend it on a poor African continent, so I do not have to pay any Federal taxes to help my fellow countrymen".

[deziloooooo]

Feb 27, 2011 21:36:14 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Feb 26, 2011 19:18:02 GMT -5 deziloooooo said:

some would say another example of the wealthier getting wealthier, but here, he has the cash, and in his case , in time, the populous will get some benefit if he continues to give the $ away in time as his gifts to the people...

Dezi, you do realize he is spending stock member equity to make these purchases. He is not spending his personal fortune.
That has already been spoken for thru the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, otherwise known as

"I made my fortune on the backs of American citizens paying exorbitant prices for my lousy performing software and will spend it on a poor African continent, so I do not have to pay any Federal taxes to help my fellow countrymen".

You realize he owns a lot of the Hathaway fund himself...so if the fund grows because of the funds investments, acquiring companies or just investing in them, he too benefits as all the holders of the fund would.
Eventually that goes into his asserts too, and he is giving a lot of his wealth away.

Your quoting him or your idea of how he made his fortune?

If his quotes, mind a link, as that, hos saying such a thing, would surprise me.
If your ideas , sorry, being polite here , I am just not interested, though possible some one else is.

[BeenThere...DoneThat...]

<<< If your ideas , sorry, being polite here , I am just not interested, though possible some one else is. >>>

...since when has disinterest prevented posters from posting on here?

;D

[privateinvestor]

Buffett has it both ways with Goldman Sachs


By Rob Cox

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 09:30:00 GMT





-- The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own --





NEW YORK, Feb 28 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Warren Buffett once again used his annual letter to shareholders to rail against many of the Wall Street practices he has long despised, including hedge fund compensation, leverage and option-value pricing. What's odd this time around is to see the Berkshire Hathaway <BRKa.N> chairman's folksy criticisms set alongside a very public display of affection for one of the prime beneficiaries of these apparently wicked ways -- Goldman Sachs <GS.N>.

Now, it's easy to see why Goldman deserves a shout-out from the billionaire investor. He plugged $5 billion into the investment bank during the financial crisis. As part of that deal, he received preferred stock with juicy yields and warrants that allow him to purchase common shares for $50 a share less than they're currently trading at. Goldman, in short, has been very, very good to Berkshire shareholders.

So good, in fact, that the bank wants out. It has applied to the Federal Reserve to allow it to buy back the preference shares Buffett owns, and receives 10 percent annual payments on. But as Buffett notes, "Goldman Sachs has the right to call our preferred on 30 days notice, but has been held back by the Federal Reserve (bless it!)."

Buffett, however, does not bless the practices that characterize the industry Goldman leads. Once again, he takes the hedge fund world to task for "some terrible behavior." Goldman manages hedge funds and is one of the prime brokers to the industry. Buffett uses his letter to take on Black-Scholes, the conventional method used by Wall Street to value options. The model's eponymous co-inventor, Fischer Black, worked at Goldman Sachs. He chastises the use of leverage, one of the key ingredients of the private equity business that Goldman runs, characterizing it as one of the many forms of "financial adventurism" he and his partner Charles Munger try to avoid.

It's not necessarily wrong for Buffett to invest in an investment bank but dislike investment bankers. To his mind, Goldman may be an exception -- the one bank that's able to succeed without engaging in the more unsavory aspects of the business in which it operates. Whatever the case, it is not hard to see a contradiction.



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activetrader.schwab.com/ReutersNews.aspx

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

Last time I checked the Forbes list, Buffett had personal net worth of around $38 to $40 Billion. I'd have to double check that, but those are in the ball park.
He is not holding it all in cash.

[privateinvestor]

I am not so sure what Buffett says is that relevant anymore???IMHO...the markets are more worried about the crisis in North Africa. the Middle East, Inflation and the Price of Oil in the near term... Or what next will Obama do to screw up the so called economic recovery..??

[Value Buy]

Dezi, to your reply in #4,
Of course I am not quoting Buffet. If you read what I PLAINLY wrote, Bill Gates has a foundation in which he has pledged to spend his profligate billions he made selling basically flawed software to America and the world, on the poor of the world, and more specifically, in Africa.
Not that there is anything wrong with that......but, Buffet, has hitched his wagon to that cart, and complains that he, Buffet, is undertaxed by our Governemnt.
Why doesn't Buffet just write a check to the Fed's paying what "he" considers his fair share, instead of writing it off on his tax return?
Liberals can be quite the hipocrites, in my opinon.....