Warren Buffett is more worried than usual

Discussion in 'Wall St. News' started by ajacobson, May 5, 2020.

  1. ajacobson

    ajacobson

    May 4, 2020
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    [​IMG]
    “You can bet on America, but you kind of have to be careful about how you bet,” Warren Buffett said at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting. Johannes Eisele/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
    Warren Buffett is more worried than usual
    The “Oracle of Omaha” initially exhibited his usual optimism on Saturday during Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting, held online for the first time. But, Andrew writes in his latest column, Mr. Buffett appears fairly gloomy if you dig deeper:
    It was unsettling on Saturday to hear him repeatedly say “I don’t know.” He was careful to say the markets would improve in the long term — though his time frame for certainty was decades, not months or not even necessarily years from now. About the current climate, he said, “You can bet on America, but you kind of have to be careful about how you bet.”

    The clearest sign of hesitation was his closed wallet, Andrew notes. Mr. Buffett didn’t buy up stocks during the recent market plunge, unlike his spending spree amid the carnage of the 2008 financial crisis. Back then, he wrote an op-ed in The New York Times a month after Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy: “In the near term, unemployment will rise, business activity will falter and headlines will continue to be scary. So … I’ve been buying American stocks.”
    • Mr. Buffett missed his chance to strike the type of high-priced rescue deals like the one he offered to G.E. in 2008, Bloomberg notes, because the Fed quickly stepped in with a slew of bailout programs. Berkshire is now sitting on $137 billion in cash.
    Mr. Buffett sold his holdings in the four biggest U.S. airlines, saying that the airline business “changed in a very major way.”
    • All told, Berkshire sold $6.5 billion worth of stocks last month, putting most of the money into Treasury bills.
    The meeting came after Berkshire reported a $50 billion loss in the first quarter. Mr. Buffett has long argued that swings in value of Berkshire’s investments aren’t a good indicator of the company’s health, but the conglomerate also recorded hits to wholly owned operations like its Burlington Northern railroad and retail businesses.
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    Mr. Buffett left investors with a sliver of hope: “The American miracle, the American magic has always prevailed and it will do so again,” he said.
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  2. Sekiyo

    Sekiyo

    Or how to wipe out 10 years of income in one quarter.
     
  3. Well, Buffet has seen bubbles form and go many times in his life time. Those bubbles occurred at company, sector, and/or industry levels. With the whole world central banks printing money without limit, it's no longer as simple as letting the bubble pop and other things go on business as usual until things recover. If the world's reserve currency breaks, we are looking at another great depression or worse. I share Buffet's sentiment to be worried.
     
    Spooz Top 2 and NotKenGriffin like this.
  4. Sucks for him he cant go short like us small fast players
     
  5. Like going short in this market would be any easier than being long. Nothing makes sense it seems, not sure if it ever did previously either. The way I see it, market should be way lower, but it's just so hard to play with the Fed pumping and governments doing everything to save the "economy". Economy my ass, they're saving their own savings for now and retire rich, and let us younger generations have to deal with it later in form of fucked up debt levels and what not.
     
    yc47ib, ges, RubberBand and 4 others like this.
  6. How about buying puts or beeing not short at aöl since hes an investor not a trader?
     
    Nobert likes this.
  7. traider

    traider

    Big players can still short tons of index futures to hedge if they wanted to. There is ample liquidity.
     
    Atikon and Nobert like this.
  8. SteveM

    SteveM

    "Be fearful when others are fearful, and be fearful when others are greedy."
     
  9. Nobert

    Nobert

    What does the article say :
    ,, Warren Buffet worried... ''

    What does reality say :
    $137B in cash.

    With that monstrous reserve, he makes few moves like he did with BAC & then they're set for another 10 years.

    Journalists writes this crap, just to keep their seats in office,because general audience chases negativity & most likely, they don't know how the game works (most of the time, while all of their own investments, consists of 401k in spy).

     
    Last edited: May 5, 2020

  10. Going short
    Might not be easier but being able in itself the ability to do so Or even simply
    Go half way to being flag makes it easier for u as a trader not only to trade but to sleep as well
     
    #10     May 5, 2020