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Non-Tech : Conseco Insurance (CNO) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sr K who wrote (4009)	3/11/2001 1:20:09 PM
From: RockyBalboa	Respond to of 4155

yes, the report citing buffet buying CnC-anything was a blatant lie. Also see: Message 15315788 ``The Fortune report was accurate and the Journal report wasn't,'' Debbie Bosanek, a spokeswoman for Buffett, told Reuters on Wednesday. Buffett spokespersons rarely speak to the press. CNC hypesters are all for sudden very mute after it turned out. Care to comment, Softie? Message 15095302

To: Sr K who wrote (4009)	3/11/2001 8:49:45 PM
From: RockyBalboa	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4155

``To this day neither Berkshire nor I have ever bought a share of stock or a bond of Conseco,'' wrote Buffett in his letter, posted on the firm's Web site on Saturday. Press release: Sunday March 11, 7:03 pm Eastern Time Buffett says did not buy Conseco bonds, ends controversy NEW YORK, March 11 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRKa - news) did not buy any bonds issued by insurance and loan firm Conseco Inc. (NYSE:CNC - news), the billionaire investor said on Saturday in his annual letter to Berkshire shareholders, ending several months of controversy over whether he had invested in Conseco's debt. ``To this day neither Berkshire nor I have ever bought a share of stock or a bond of Conseco,'' wrote Buffett in his letter, posted on the firm's Web site on Saturday. Conseco's stock leaped at the end of December when The Wall Street Journal reported that Buffett, one of the U.S.'s most respected and successful investors, bought several hundred millions of dollars of Conseco's bonds, citing people familiar with the matter. Shares of Conseco, which is in the process of paying off debts and rebuilding its balance sheet under former GE Capital boss Gary Wendt, hit a 52-week high of $18.60 on Dec. 29, the day the report was published. The shares have since fallen back to $13.65. Conseco denied knowledge of any investment by Buffett. In early February, business magazine Fortune reported that Buffett had not bought any Conseco bonds. ``The Fortune report was accurate and the Journal report wasn't,'' a spokeswoman for Buffett told Reuters at that time. Buffett put a decisive end to the controversy on Saturday, telling Berkshire's shareholders that the original report of his investment in Conseco bonds was ``a glaring error''. Berkshire did, however, buy bank and bond debt of struggling loan firm FINOVA Group Inc. (NYSE:FNV - news), Buffett said in his letter. Berkshire, along with finance investor Leucadia National Corp. (NYSE:LUK - news) is set to takeover FINOVA under the terms of a loan deal with the firm, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week. That deal has yet to be approved by creditors and the bankruptcy court.