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Buffett playing short-term foreign exchange? Jimmy Buffett, maybe.
Buffett is the ultimate "buy and never sell" investor.
Well, almost never. I've read "The Warren Buffett Way"
(Hagstrom, J.Wiley, 1994) frontwards and backwards,
and studied his recent annual reports. Somebody
correct me if I'm wrong, but I doubt Buffett would
even bother to play a short-term speculation on the
value of the dollar.
I do think that he sees the US investment community
ignoring the global growth potential in franchising
the Golden Arches in Japan, Australia, New Zealand,
India, China, Japan, Africa, etc. etc. etc.
You can determine the relative position of Berkshire
in KO versus MCD by reference to Berkshire's Annual
Report, at berkshirehathaway.com, where
ou'll find in the 1996 Annual Report the following
disclosure:
December 31, 1996
Unrealized Carrying
Cost Gains Value ***
-------- --------- ---------
Common stock of:
American Express Company (a).............$1,392.7 $ 1,401.6 $ 2,794.3
The Coca-Cola Company.................... 1,298.9 9,226.1 10,525.0
The Walt Disney Company.................. 1,533.2 183.6 1,716.8
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation... 449.7 1,323.1 1,772.8
The Gillette Company..................... 600.0 3,132.0 3,732.0
McDonald's Corporation................... 1,265.3 103.1 1,368.4
Wells Fargo & Company.................... 553.9 1,413.0 1,966.9
All other equity securities................ 2,058.3 1,816.1* 3,874.4
-------- --------- ---------
$9,152.0 $18,598.6 $27,750.6
======== ========= =========
December 31, 1995
Unrealized Carrying
Cost Gains Value ***
-------- --------- ---------
Common stock of:
American Express Company (a).............$1,392.7 $ 653.6 $ 2,046.3
Capital Cities/ABC, Inc. (b)............. 345.0 2,122.5 2,467.5
The Coca-Cola Company.................... 1,298.9 6,126.1 7,425.0
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation... 260.1 783.9 1,044.0
GEICO Corporation (c).................... 1,175.8 -- 1,175.8
The Gillette Company..................... 600.0 1,902.0 2,502.0
Wells Fargo & Company.................... 423.7 1,043.2 1,466.9
All other equity securities................ 1,680.0 1,210.1** 2,890.1
-------- --------- ---------
$7,176.2 $13,841.4 $21,017.6
======== ========= =========
~ Doug ~ (no position in MCD) |
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