mish, you might have better luck searching for Buffett than buffet. The article that mentioned short the S&P was from Bill Fleckenstein, 5/16/02 and reads:
"There was a lot of coverage about what went on at the Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A:NYSE - news - commentary - research - analysis) annual meeting recently, but one item which slipped through the cracks was, fortunately, picked up by the good people at Grant's Interest Rate Observer . The latest issue states: "At the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting last weekend, Warren Buffett disclosed that Berkshire bought S&P 500 put options on more than one occasion in recent years. In clinically specific detail, the Sage of Omaha said Berkshire holds an option-related investment on which it stands to gain $600 million if the S&P closes below 1,150 on June 3." So, Warren Buffett is putting money up on his bearish view. In this case, it sounds as though he sold calls, but I don't think the actual mechanism is so important, and I think people at home should certainly not sell calls as a way to express a bearish view. Buying puts is one thing, but selling calls is a totally different matter. That's a subject for another day." |
