Those who have followed me for a while know that I have been a doom-and-gloomer since the beginning of 2008. A bit late to the party compared to some, like Noriel Roubini and Michael Panzner, but I have been trying to make up for lost time. Now I am not a doom-and-gloomer by nature. I am actually a fairly optimistic person. Nonetheless, I am not one to ignore reality, facts or statistics.
Yet there are others who have been late to recognize the pain we are in and are facing, but they seem to be waking up a bit. I am not going to mention the CEOs of financial institutions or those in government. These individuals are required to lie about how well things are going, from what I can tell. They constantly say how we have reached a bottom and how strong the American economy is at heart. Yeah, right.
Well, now a fellow optimist is joining the doom-and-gloom club. He has not been part of the "we are fine" crowd, to his benefit, but he is just now, from what I can tell, joining the ranks of doom-and-gloom. Warren Buffet, welcome to our vastly increasing club. Reality is reaching the masses. Yes, Warren is saying our economy is in a "shambles" for 2009 and probably well beyond. I feel vindicated.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a1L50vuf_HiM&refer=home
Now it could be because his company's profit was down 96%. That might create a good bit of reality. Still, Buffet, if he is true to his own proclamations, is having the time of his life. This is the biggest market downturn in his life and he has money to invest, so he has to be a happy guy. As he has said, when there is fear in the market it is time to invest. He also once said he would be happy if the value of all his companies went down by 50%. He must be dancing around his house he is so happe!! So you have to ask yourself, is he now seeking to increase fear to better his own opportunities? Those that idolize Buffet have to realize he is very oportunistic and not the nice guy some think he is. He will announce he has bought a stock, which will drive up its price, but then request a SEC exemption from announcing when he sells out to avoid the price declining before he is out. He is a great investor, but not quite the clean guy some think. So you have to wonder whether his words express reality or support his investment goals - or both. Either way, I think he is right.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aO.dAwhtKlAw&refer=home
Disclosures: None
Disclosures: None.
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he might ask for an SEC exemption on the way out of a specific stock, sure. But do you think he has that much impact on the broad market?
That reminds me. How is the market doing since his October letter to the NYT in which he said he was buying everything?
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