Warren Buffett Turns From Stocks To Bonds

nytimes.com:

When so many others were running scared last autumn, Mr. Buffett invested billions in Goldman Sachs, and got a far better deal than Washington. He then staked billions more on General Electric. While taxpayers never bailed out Mr. Buffett, they did bail out some of his stock picks. Goldman, American Express, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bancorp -all of them got public bailouts that ultimately benefited private shareholders like Mr. Buffett.

If Mr. Buffett picked well - and, so far, it looks as if he did - his payoff could be enormous. But now, only a year after the crisis struck, he seems to be worrying that the broader stock market might falter again.

Read the whole story: nytimes.com

Comments

[TheAdultintheRoom]

Refering to Pigs comment earlier, thinking that money was lost can be misconception. If you stayed the course (and that was very hard to do), you are recovering slowly. But if you sold there was a winner at the other end, and it was probably those same big banks that we bailed out. After all, it was them who created the mess and them who come out of it first. That is the sucker game they play, and they rig the markets so that every so often they can skim some money off the middle and poor class. The people with the really big money always come out smelling like a rose while the rest of us scrimp and scratch our way through life. At least we can look ourselves in the mirror in the morning. Good luck, all.

[liberal user]

It seems our efforts to achieve actual results with regards to reform in the banking & finance sectors are futile. In addition, the disconnect between reality and wall street keeps widening. The situation is frustrating.
hat tip: to http://www.iamned.com ...

[PigsOnSoma]

To think what all that lost money could have done for the people of this country, and to think that some just treat it as numbers to move around. And to think that this is what the American dream is...

Sad.

[MetalCanuck]

Buffet profited from all the bailouts, this guy must have known what was going to happen.

[poster1122]

Everyone knew what was going to happen. It was clear from day one that no one was going to let the world financial system collapse. You'd have bread lines in every city on the planet if that were to happen.

The big difference was that he had the cash on hand to make lemonade from the lemons. Goldman, for instance, came to him on bended knee for cash and he was able to dictate terms to them. So unless you were expecting every major bank in the world to go under, wiping out virtually everyone, it was a great time to buy.

Same deal with the stock market. Hell, Buffett even wrote an article telling people to stop, take a breath, and stop panic selling and look around to see the bargains that were around. If people had taken the advice in the midst of the crisis, they'd be 30% up by now.

Buffet's advice has been: when people are panicking, that's the time to look for good buys. when people are exuberant, it's time to get worried. Look at every economic crisis, and you'll see tons of opportunities. But what most people do is that they buy high (because everyone is exuberant and says you've got to buy) and sells low (because they look at today's losses and sell when everyone else is selling).

[tuberider]

He's a God. You're a sucker.

[liberal user]

Obama isn't doing enough with regards to executive pay and bank & wallstreet regulation

good articles: http://www.iamned.com

[ibsteve2u]

Did Buffett buy enough of GE to go politely tell Immelt that drooling over GE's profit potential in India and China http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/5033) rather than putting a boot in the arse of those of our politicians who see America as only a fruit to be plucked is rather...discouraging?

Not good, when almost all American corporate leaders casually toss aside America's future in favor of profits in the now.

[dnpvd51]

Buffet lobbied hard for the bailout and then he makes a major profit from the bailout.

[jennylynn]

That is why he supported BO.

[Faraja]

"The Carnegies, the Mellons, the men who built this great industrial empire, made sure of it because it was their money at stake." - Gordon Gekko