Who is the real contrarian these days? The Bears, who are dead right about how bad the economy is or the Bulls who are dead right for being long virtually every asset class, the riskier the better? Perhaps the true contrarian is neutral right now, refusing to play either the economic weakness or the markets’…
Warren Buffett
Hot Links: Shangri-La Found?
Stuff I’m Reading this Morning… Templeton’s Mark Mobius sees another 40% gain for the BRIC nations. (Bloomberg) What Are The Best Hedge Funds Buying? Including John Paulson, Steve Cohen, Steve Mandel. (PragCap) The emperors drop some crumbs: Goldman and Buffett‘s plan to help small businesses. (Barron’s) 10 Most Annoying Things About This Recession. (TheDisciplinedInvestor) What’s…
Taking In The Trash: Buffett and Gates Tag Teaming Republic Services (RSG)
Berkshire Hathaway and Cascade Investments have both just disclosed positions in Republic Services Inc (RSG), the second largest waste disposal company in the US. Cascade is the investment vehicle that manages Bill Gates‘ investments exclusively and Berkshire is obviously Buffett‘s holding company. We know they’re good friends, but this is the first time I’ve seen…
The "Cute and Cuddly Grandpa from Omaha" has Fangs
I’ve read enough about and by Warren Buffett to be completely in awe of him. he remains, as Doug Kass calls him, The Mozart of Investing, cobbling together one masterpiece after another, always ahead of the curve. That said, my eyes were opened by some of my favorite bloggers this weekend, and I will probably…
What the Burlington Northern and Black & Decker Deals Have in Common
The Deal Professor, having expressed his dismay at the lack of M&A a day too early, weighs in on the similarities between Buffett’s purchase of BNI and the Stanley Works buyout of Black & Decker… From Steven M. Davidoff (NYT): While both deals may or may not be the sign of a new trend, and two…
Breaking: Buffett to Acquire the Rest of Burlington Northern Railroad
It’s not for me to tell you what Warren Buffett must see ahead for transportation, energy and economic activity, you must draw your own inferences. What I will say is that this is Berkshire Hathaway‘s largest-ever purchase so you may want to come up with some kind of thesis to encompass it. From MarketWatch: NEW…
Hot Links: Deflation, Brazil & Too-Big-To-Fail Whales
More Hot Links for Weekend Reading… Pay Attention: Joseph Stiglitz and others see deflation and Bernanke keeping rates down to fight it. (Bloomberg) Mortgages for sports stadium season tickets…why not, at this point? (MarketFolly) “An Unmitigated Disaster” – Denninger on the real unemployment numbers. (MarketTicker) A look at Brazilian stocks after the Olympic bid victory…
Forbes 400 Movers and Groovers
The 2009 Forbes 400 list just came out and I found myself more interested in the rankings than I’ve been in awhile. Overall, the big guys lost money for only the 5th time since 1982. Their losses were a combined $300 billion in net worth. From Forbes: Faltering capital markets and real estate prices, along…
Moody's to Introduce New Spokesmoose to Repair Image
If anyone has a public relations problem, it’s Moody’s (MCO), once a well-respected bond ratings service, now DC’s favorite whipping boy for its role in the credit meltdown. Between Buffett‘s dumping of the company’s stock and Greenlight’s David Einhorn pitching it as an investment short, management at Moody’s has decided to play a little offense….
Hot Links: Don't Let Ballmer See Your iPhone, Boy
Stuff I’m Reading this Morning… China Strong, Dollar Weak. Stocks Likey. Keep walking, nothing new to see here. (Bloomberg) Mish says, “Yes, it is a Depression.” (GlobalEconTrendAnalysis) The Notorious B.I.G. sees a bullish reverse head and shoulders pattern in the chart of front-month gold prices. (Bespoke) Veteran Buffett-watcher Jeff Matthews on what the Oracle’s recent…
