This dovetails with what I have been saying about EBITDA, and the crooks of Wall Street for the past several years>
Buffett blasts corporate America's crooks and their Wall Street allies
By Chris Hughes, Financial Editor
06 May 2002
Warren Buffett, the legendary US investor, has launched a blistering attack on sloppy accounting, corporate greed and Wall Street investment banks, while warning that coming years will see poorer investment returns.
The chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, aged 71, supported by his deputy and long-standing business partner Charlie Munger, told the US investment group's annual meeting in Omaha that fraud was rife in US businesses.
The actions of Enron were "grotesque" Mr Buffett said, with Mr Munger, describing the collapsed US energy trader as "the most disgusting example of a business culture gone wrong".
Wall Street and the accountancy profession should share in the blame, the pair went on. Investment banks had no concern for investors, and the only question they asked when dealing with stocks and shares was "can it be sold?". Auditors had been too pliant to their clients' demands, and had succumbed to "dubious accounting".
"Many of the crooks look like crooks," said Mr Buffett. "Wall Street loves them as long as they are pushing out securities." Mr Buffett, known affectionately as the Sage of Omaha, said a good way to spot possible frauds was to keep a close eye on those companies that reported results using Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation).
Mr Munger, 78, also sounded a warning over companies involved in derivatives, saying. "To say derivative accounting in America is in the sewer is an insult to sewage," he fumed.
Mr Buffett also backed a call made last week by Alan Greenspan, the chairman of the US Federal Reserve Board, to clamp down on the "shameful" way that companies inflated their profits by excluding employee share options from the main body of their accounts.
He did not expect regulators to heed Mr Greenspan's call, however, because chief executives were lobbying hard in Washington and "get what they want every year".
Despite his displeasure with corporate America, Mr Buffett said he could not recall ever having had more fun than he was at the present time.
The pair took questions for six hours after completing the formal business in 15 minutes. One investor among the 14,000 gathered called Mr Buffett "a hero", a sentiment echoed in the auditorium's applause.
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I have been to a few of those annual meetings, one of my worst investment moves was selling BRK/a long ago..
Yes, I owned the A shares, the good ones, now trading over $74,000 each...
For those that don't know, Berkie A's have never split, and there are around 1 million in the float, kinda like some of the rats...Every 2 years or so I bring this up..
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As always, having gold shares is good insurance, and since new support lines are being drawn, a good bet... |
