BUFFETT: THERE WILL BE NO DOUBLE DIP
Warren Buffett is seeing a broad recovery in his many Berkshire businesses. In comments today at the Montana Economic Development Summit Buffett detailed why he is very bullish on America:
“I am a huge bull on this country. 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. I don’t see that in our businesses. I see we’re employing more people than a month ago, two months ago.”
I don’t think Mr. Buffett has ever been too bearish about the long-term outlook of this country (and I entirely agree with that), however it is nice to see his increased confidence based on his underlying companies. Buffett has amassed an impressive and broad group of companies through which he gauges economic growth. His comments as always, carry a huge amount of weight.
True his comments carry weight, but it was only a few years ago that WB was ripping the mass destruction capability of derivatives…only a short time later to play the game himself. Buffett is a politician these days and a very good one.
Hey Michael,
Let’s not even sugarcoat this. He’s a banker. Gotta love this comment from today:
“It’s night and day from a year, year and a half ago,” Buffett said. “I know Wells Fargo, they would love to have $50 billion more of loans now. Go in and talk to the banker.”
I still wonder where Warren Buffett would be if he hadn’t written this letter to Hank Paulson.
http://pragcap.com/the-many-myths-of-warren-buffett
I know you have to look out for #1, but his company was a house of cards that nearly cratered without govt intervention. I wonder where his reputation would be if he hadn’t convinced the govt to intervene….
That letter is downright shameful. They enacted the plan exactly as Buffett said they should. And what did it do? It saved all of the banks and no one else. Of course, Buffett made out like a bandit. Shameful.
All true TPC. I wish him the best, and no hating from me, but leveled playing fields should be where society heads. He clearly has no interest in that.
Glad to hear that the upper echelon of wealth is doing OK. Why am I not surprised?
Insiders are just giddy with confidence and excitement on where things are headed….for them. Not you and I. They’ll say anything to get your last dollar, and indeed, they will get your last dollar.
I have zero respect for Buffet these days. He is part of the system that I greatly despise. And so what is his message to the cattle….graze on?
I wonder if the 20,000 people his companies fired in the recession share his great cheer
I’d be a “huge bull” on America too, if I got to keep all the profits and have the taxpayers cover my losses!
TPC -
You mentioned you were leaning bullish a few weeks ago. Have you ever posted anything on your timing indicator that you mentioned? I’d be interested in knowing what it says now that we’ve rallied 8%.
Thanks
It’s still bullish. And no, I have never posted anything on it.
please let us know what is bullish in the timing indicator
sorry but this market looks like all technicals and that’s it. you mean to tell me something went bullish on aug 31 when the world changed? the gov and bernanke is in complete control of this cesspool of a market.
go warren!!!! as if this bailed out shill would say anything negative about the USSSR of A. the question is when will warren get his next bailout.
He’s heavily invested in the US so he’s talking up his book…whats new.
Wells Fargo has a tainted reputation baiting home buyers into poorly designed mortgages. I didn’t see Mr. Buffet coming out and saying he’ll tear the agreements up based on misconduct of his employees.
When you have a direct line to the government and the major investment houses in this country you might have a pretty good idea of just what the government is willing to do and place your bets accordingly. There is a trading term used for this activity…it’s called front running.
1) Regardless of how people feel about him, or whether or not he is talking up his book, when WEB says his businesses are coming back across the board, it’s a very meaningful indicator. Frankly, I’m quite surprised that that is the case. When the economy and market were heading down, WEB was very open and honest about the horrible condition of his businesses. He was ahead of the curve then. If he is ahead of the curve now (again), then this rally may not be just a technical bounce, short-covering, HFT, bots, etc.
2) “I’ve seen sentiment turn sour in the last three months or so, generally in the media. ” This statement really irked me. No, Warren, the sentiment isn’t sour because of the media – it’s sour because the masses have been totally scr3w3d by D.C. and Wall St and they know it! Combine that with very high unemployment, untrained workforce, dismal education system, foreign competition, and a whole host of other problems facing the middle class. The People are furious, scared, and defeated. The more people who become aware of how rigged society is by the elites – and how powerless they are to do anything about it – the angrier and “sourer” they get. Can anyone really blame them? My answer has always been to do the best I can for myself and my family knowing that things are as they are and are unlikely to change for the better. But I’ve still got a job.
One of the things that nauseates me is watching all the people talk about unemployment, etc., with that same fake look of concern and empathy on their faces, while each and every one of them are earning very high salaries, have high net worths, and are sitting pretty. As if someone earning millions of dollars a year could possibly understand the plight of the millions of Americans who are out of work and who have dismal prospects? Or how about retirees who depended on “average” yields from fixed investments to survive, but who now are burning through capital month after month?
For far too many people, things have become VERY bad indeed. In a society as wealthy as America (and the other mature economy countries), it’s a disgrace.
The difference between now and times past, is that (mainly thanks to the Internet), more people than ever before are AWARE of what is going on. So please forgive their “sourness”, Warren.
yes of course he was honest when demand was falling apart but his targeted audience was not the American investor it was Washington…what today might be referred to as the buyer of last resort.
It is not clear if the US is wealthy or insolvent…trillions of liabilities to live up to…will the US Gov’t honor those liabilities and/or with current and future US taxpayers tolerate the necessary taxation for financial malfeasance of previous taxpayers.
Of course the US treasury can simply inflate…which dessimates confidenc
I used to have a great deal of respect for WB and have read and loved “The Snowball” a few times.
Buffet has become just another rent-seeker and a promoter of his own positions. He is also a pimp for the Obama administration, so its not surprising that he uttered these comments in the midst of an election season in which Obama’s party could suffer a devestating defeat because of the economy.
Anybody seeking to short this stock market (or make any play based on continued financial weakness) needs to be aware of the lengths that gov’t officials and pimps like Buffet will go to over the next 60 days to paper things over and make things look better than they are. Does anyone really believe that we will see even one important economic report that comes out significantly weaker than expected? You better be flat or long on the first Friday of the month in October and November. We are Mexico.
Two statements made the first week of March 2009 led me to conclude that the bottom was near,
1 – W. Buffets “This is the worst economy I have ever seen.”
2 – P. Elidades “The Dow is headed to 5000.”
Everything I’ve ever seen about Warren Buffet has shown him to be both honest and modest. I once read that he’s lived in the same home for well over 40 years, long before he made his fortune. He’s a reasonable man and I think anything he says is worth listening to.