I'm always excited to get any view into Mr. Buffett's world - he feeds my 'doom-n-gloom' monster. I do have some of his 'b' shares but his stock has been a dog - for me, at least. -------------------------------------------------------------- Late last year Mr. Buffett trimmed Berkshire's more than $21 billion invested in foreign-exchange contracts and started buying more foreign stocks. He said that as interest rates in the U.S. began rising in mid-2005, investing directly in foreign currencies became less attractive. The continuing weakness of the dollar despite higher rates strengthened his view that Berkshire needed to invest in companies and securities overseas to protect itself from a possible sharp fall in the greenback.
Mr. Buffett blamed, as he has in the past, the growing current-account deficit in the U.S. and the country's trade imbalances with other nations, such as China, which could cause a painful correction in the dollar and lead to "significantly" higher inflation. "The more you owe, the more it becomes attractive to devalue the currency" in which your debts are denominated, he said. Despite their pessimistic outlook, Messrs. Buffett and Munger also had a little fun. In a humorous film at the start of the annual meeting, they starred in an animated spoof of "American Idol," featuring the voice of rapper Snoop Dogg and a caricature of Vice President Dick Cheney, dressed in orange hunting gear and toting automatic weapons, as contestants. During the meeting Mr. Buffett warned that speculation, instead of fundamentals, has begun to drive the commodities and to some extent, the housing markets. The commodities bubble, in particular, could end badly for investors, like Cinderella's race with the clock, he said. "At the start of the party, the punch is flowing and everything's going well, but you know at midnight it's all going to turn into pumpkins and mice," he said. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:206288 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
