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Non-Tech : Berkshire Hathaway Class B -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Michael & B.Anne who wrote (614)	3/3/1999 7:11:00 AM
From: Redhead	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1652

Good morning all....a news release.... biz.yahoo.com Wednesday March 3, 1:04 am Eastern Time Billionaire Buffett sees danger in stock market WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said on Tuesday the U.S. stock market had seen virtually unprecedented increases in recent years and was in a ''dangerous'' period that could see stock values drop sharply. Stocks had risen ''terrifically'' over the past 15 years, driven higher by lower interest rates and rising return on equity, Buffett told the ABC News ''Nightline'' program. ''After a while the very act of stocks going up starts drawing in other people who get excited about the fact that their neighbor made some money ... and that's when you get into the dangerous periods,'' he said. Asked when the bubble would burst, Buffett said, ''You never know. You know that valuations are high, by historic standard. You know that the level of speculation is high, by any historic standards, and you now that it doesn't go on forever ... but you don't know when it ends.'' Buffett told ABC's Ted Koppel the ongoing market rally had ''gathered a lot of momentum in the last few years,'' signaling that a downturn could be around the corner. ''The last three years prior to this one, when the S & P (Standard & Poor's index) has gone up 20 percent a year, that's almost unprecedented,'' he said in the television interview, filmed at a Dairy Queen restaurant in Omaha, Nebraska, where the investor lives. Buffett's holding company, Berkshire Hathaway Inc , owns Dairy Queen. Buffett told ABC he had built a $30 billion endowment fund -- essentially his personal net worth -- for philanthropic purposes when he dies and said a team of six well-qualified people helped determine how that money would be put to use. He said one area he was particularly concerned about was the proliferation of nuclear weapons and technology, and said he was funding some efforts to study the problem. But he acknowledged that he did not know how to ''attack the problem with money.'' He said his three children would receive some money from his estate after he died, but he did not believe in the ''divine right of the womb'' and felt they should prove themselves in society, rather than inherit the great wealth he has amassed in his lifetime. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- More Quotes and News: Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE:BRKa - news) Related News Categories: US Market News

To: Michael & B.Anne who wrote (614)	3/3/1999 8:54:00 AM
From: Michael & B.Anne	Respond to of 1652

BRK still holds silver position StockWBy Jeffry Bartash, CBS MarketWatch Last Update: 8:33 AM ET Feb 25, 1999 Futures Movers NewsWatch NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Noted investor Warren Buffett will update shareholders on his investments, including his silver holdings in his annual letter to stockholders on March 13. A year ago, Buffett's holding company, Omaha, Neb.-based Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A), announced that it had acquired 129.7 million ounces of silver, roughly 16 percent of the world's annual silver output. The company said it made the purchases based on the view that demand would continue to outstrip supply, leading to an increase in prices. So far that proven to be the case. Silver (SI=H9) rose 12 percent in 1998 and is expected to climb this year as well, according to a recent report from CPM Group. See Thom Calandra's StockWatch Buffett's stake has fueled frequent rumors in the silver market that he's been buying or selling. A spokeswoman for Berkshire Hathaway said the company does not respond to rumors and cannot "confirm or deny" any activity. In a press release Feb. 3, 1998 announcing Buffett's position, Berkshire Hathaway said it "has no present plans for purchase or sale of silver. The position at cost comprises less than 2 percent of the company's investment portfolio." Analysts who follow Buffett say he traditionally does not move rapidly in and out of markets and tends to hold his investments for the long term. The spokeswoman said Buffett's annual letter to shareholders will be released March 13, including on the company's own web site. Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting is slated for May 3.

To: Michael & B.Anne who wrote (614)	3/3/1999 2:45:00 PM
From: jhg_in_kc	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 1652

I read the report and was delighted to hear Buffett's voice ringing throughout. HE WROTE THE REPORT IN LARGE PART, dictating phrases to his hand picked analyst. There are too many Buffet signature phrases, "cigar butts" "our mistakes," etc. for this not to be his voice. From this we can conclude: --he wants BRK to be thought of as a company, an operating business, not a "stock like a mutual fund" --he is saying there is a "margin of safety" to the shares right now and clearly saying thru the Paine Weber analyst that they are undervalued --he would like to see Berkshire in the S&P 500 and the analyst alghouth in this case probably not WEB thinks this is invetiable. Of course membership in the S&P adds 20% plus to a stock. I agree with the analyst if I were running an index fund I'd love to have BRKB in it as a counterweight to the volatile tech stocks. Berkshire is at about the same price it was a year ago when it did not even own Gn3eral Re which has "tripled its float" this stock should go up 50% after the annual report is released. That's when it began moving last year I seem to remember. jhg