Buffett Buys More Burlington Northern
January 20, 2009
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Corp (NYSE: BRK-A) disclosed today that it had increased his Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (NYSE: BNI) stake by nearly 16% with the purchase of more than $271 million worth of BNI shares on the open market in the past 5 days.
Abolish Credit Rating Agencies? Some Say So
January 6, 2009
In an article I wrote back in April of 2007, I assigned blame to various individuals, industries, and institutions for the financial and mortgage meltdown that led us to the current financial mess we find ourselves in. One such perpetrator has received a significant amount of flak recently, and some suggest they should be restructured or even eliminated altogether. I am speaking, of course, of the credit rating agencies, such as Moody’s Corp. (NYSE: MCO), Fitch’s, and Standard & Poors - which is owned by The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP).
Through further research, I compiled a list of options we have for dealing with the credit rating agencies. Read more »
Stay Away from Financial Stocks
January 5, 2009
I was recently perusing some investing blogs and ran across an article I feel adequately captures my concerns (and belief) that financial mass destruction is probable in 2009. Rakesh Saxena, the article’s author, does a good job explaining the unbelievable amount of financial engineering by the likes of Citigroup (NYSE: C), JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, and many others. Reading this article, as well as the insightful comments, reminded me of two specific reasons why I urge everyone I know to stay away from financial stocks - even shorting them. Read more »