Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : MDA - Market Direction Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sweet Ol who wrote (81840)	9/16/2001 7:05:55 PM
From: CF Rebel	Respond to of 99985

us.news2.yimg.com <<Sunday September 16 6:49 PM ET Buffett Says 'Won't Be Selling Anything' By Anna Willard WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. billionaire investor, Warren Buffett (news - web sites) said on Sunday he will not sell any of his stocks when the market reopens on Monday, and in fact if the markets fall significantly he may use it as a buying opportunity. The New York Stock Exchange (news - web sites) is due to open after four days of closure brought about by last Tuesday's air attacks that leveled New York's World Trade Center and heavily damaged the Pentagon (news - web sites) building outside Washington, D.C. ``I won't be selling anything,'' Buffett told the CBS program ''60 minutes''. ``If prices would fall significantly, there's some things I might buy.'' The influential investor said the country is no different economically than a week ago. ``And certainly if you owned a piece of an American business that you felt good about a week ago, it would be crazy, in my view, to be selling it at 9:30 tomorrow morning,'' he said. Jack Welch, the recently retired chairman of General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE - news), also said on CBS he would we holding onto his stocks on Monday. ``I'll probably just hold,'' he said. ``My view is that this is the best place in the world to invest. We have the strongest economy.'' Buffett pointed out that the economy was already in a slowdown before last week's events. ``There was a slow-down going on last week, and there'll be a slow down going on next week,'' he said but added that the attacks are likely to have ``some impact'' on third quarter earnings. The U.S. economy barely grew in the second quarter, with GDP (news - web sites) eking out a tiny 0.2 percent gain. Another guest on the show, former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and now Citigroup board member, was also upbeat on the fundamentals on the economy. ``I think the right message...is to keep your eyes on the long term strength of our economy and our society, and react calmly and sensibly, and thoughtfully, just as you always would,'' he said. President Bush (news - web sites) and Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill have both insisted that economic prospects are still good despite the tragic events of last week. However, earlier on Sunday, Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) said the economy could ``quite possibly'' tip into a recession. Asked in an interview on NBC's ``Meet the Press'' if the United States was now in both a war and a recession, Cheney said: ``Quite possibly. We clearly have a war against terrorism and we don't know yet what the third quarter is going to be like'' in the economy. BERKSHIRE EQUIPPED TO PAY OUT Buffett also said his company, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRKA - news), which owns General Re, a reinsurer set to take a share of insurance losses arising from the destruction of the World Trade Center, is well-equipped to pay out a great deal of money. ``We will pay out, at Berkshire, a great deal of money, more money than we've ever paid out -- in respect to any catastrophe -- before this. But we're well equipped to take it.'' Buffett said there is no doubt that some insurers will be hit badly by the crashes which may result in the failure of some companies. Another sector that has been hit hard is the airline industry, and Welch said the government would likely have to step in to bail it out. ``I mean there's just no question that industry has been impacted uniquely,'' he said. The U.S. House of Representatives failed last week to adopt a measure that would have offered $12.5 billion in loan guarantees to the airline industry and another $2.5 billion in direct aid, but lawmakers are expected to try again to move legislation to help the already ailing industry in the coming days. However, Buffett was not so enthusiastic about such a proposal. ``There have been a lot of airlines that have gone bankrupt without having the sort of events you've had in the last week,'' he said. ``So we have to be very careful about any mass subsidization.''>>