21 Comments
 

Let's be real, with an expected hole of $100-200bn, $5 is like a drop in the bucket. He is betting that BAC CDS spreads tighten and they are allowed to access the capital markets again. I still wouldn't touch it.

Reality hits you hard, bro...
 

Buffet = modern Morgan? His support seems to lend credibility to an institution. His political views aside, does anyone else see it that way?

Get busy living
 

How is he being a hypocrite? It's not like passing on a good business deal is going to help America's poor- especially since his wealth will eventually go to charity.

 
Eventually go to charity.... like when he is 6 feet under. Cant have any fun with it then, might as well pretend you are some kind of good soul trying to help the poor man out but only AFTER your dead.

He has said that the reason he doesn't give it all away immediately is because he believes he is the best person to grow the money (and it seems reasonably considering the deals he gets).

This dude has such a low-profile standard of living compared to his wealth - so for your statement to be true he would have to get an intrinsic happiness just from having more money in the bank - which is unlikely for someone who's already the richest man.

 
imnottheonlyone
Eventually go to charity.... like when he is 6 feet under. Cant have any fun with it then, might as well pretend you are some kind of good soul trying to help the poor man out but only AFTER your dead.

He has said that the reason he doesn't give it all away immediately is because he believes he is the best person to grow the money (and it seems reasonably considering the deals he gets).

This dude has such a low-profile standard of living compared to his wealth - so for your statement to be true he would have to get an intrinsic happiness just from having more money in the bank - which is unlikely for someone who's already the richest man.

...in Omaha. Richest man in Omaha.

You forgot the last part.

Regards

"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so." - Ronald Reagan
 

Many of those that called Buffet a hypocrite for asking for a tax hike and said that he should rather "cut a big check to the governmnet" should now see that the man means well. (by the way, why is it customary in the U.S. to say "the government," which usually refers to people in power, and not "the State" which actually refers to the set of institutions the government controls? I am curious and not making a "answer-the-question-yourself-to-be enlightened-like-me" kind of remark)

I doubt that relative to other things you could do with 5 billion right now, his investment in BofA will pay off any time soon. He's likely to be dead by the time this move makes sense and the profits will go to some charity.

So at the very least, Buffet is not just thinking how he can get richer but rather thinking how he can contribute to reconstructing some of the conditions of the U.S. of his youth that made it possible for a weirdo like himself to make a killing. And I am pretty pretty sure he also saved the U.S. some cash as well.

On a related point, do any of you know of a significant bet that Buffet has ever made against a particular company? I don't know too much about specific trades but I do know that, for example, Soros broke the pound and Chanos bet against Enron but I haven't heard of Buffet short selling anything.

 
Best Response
oscar_the_grouchMany of those that called Buffet a hypocrite for asking for a tax hike and said that he should rather "cut a big check to the governmnet" should now see that the man means well. (by the way, why is it customary in the U.S. to say "the government," which usually refers to people in power, and not "the State" which actually refers to the set of institutions the government controls? I am curious and not making a "answer-the-question-yourself-to-be enlightened-like-me" kind of remark)

It's probably because we actually have 50 states and because people tend to live in one...so referring to the "State" while conversing would generally imply the state that you are currently standing in or living in...which could be confusing when in dialogue.

oscar_the_grouchI doubt that relative to other things you could do with 5 billion right now, his investment in BofA will pay off any time soon. He's likely to be dead by the time this move makes sense and the profits will go to some charity.

Are you trying to be wrong???

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-25/buffett-s-bank-of-america-stak…

Regards

"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so." - Ronald Reagan
 
cphbravo96
oscar_the_grouchMany of those that called Buffet a hypocrite for asking for a tax hike and said that he should rather "cut a big check to the governmnet" should now see that the man means well. (by the way, why is it customary in the U.S. to say "the government," which usually refers to people in power, and not "the State" which actually refers to the set of institutions the government controls? I am curious and not making a "answer-the-question-yourself-to-be enlightened-like-me" kind of remark)

It's probably because we actually have 50 states and because people tend to live in one...so referring to the "State" while conversing would generally imply the state that you are currently standing in or living in...which could be confusing when in dialogue.

oscar_the_grouchI doubt that relative to other things you could do with 5 billion right now, his investment in BofA will pay off any time soon. He's likely to be dead by the time this move makes sense and the profits will go to some charity.

Are you trying to be wrong???

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-25/buffett-s-bank-of-america-stak…

Regards

Thanks for this answer. I didn't grow up in a Federal Republic so it makes sense although there are Federal Republics, like Argentina, where they still refer to debt as "Public Debt." I understand that this is just semantics but people like Luntz and Lakoff have shown how the choice of words can induce attitudes towards policies.

As for you second question of whether I am trying to be wrong. The answer is no. And I explained just above this post why. I could still be wrong, but given that the counterfactual I had in mind wasn't Buffet not benefiting from the trade but rather him benefiting more by doing something else, the article you send doesn't really convince me either way but it does help.

Thanks again.

 
oscar_the_grouchMany of those that called Buffet a hypocrite for asking for a tax hike and said that he should rather "cut a big check to the governmnet" should now see that the man means well. (by the way, why is it customary in the U.S. to say "the government," which usually refers to people in power, and not "the State" which actually refers to the set of institutions the government controls? I am curious and not making a "answer-the-question-yourself-to-be enlightened-like-me" kind of remark)

I doubt that relative to other things you could do with 5 billion right now, his investment in BofA will pay off any time soon. He's likely to be dead by the time this move makes sense and the profits will go to some charity.

So at the very least, Buffet is not just thinking how he can get richer but rather thinking how he can contribute to reconstructing some of the conditions of the U.S. of his youth that made it possible for a weirdo like himself to make a killing. And I am pretty pretty sure he also saved the U.S. some cash as well.

On a related point, do any of you know of a significant bet that Buffet has ever made against a particular company? I don't know too much about specific trades but I do know that, for example, Soros broke the pound and Chanos bet against Enron but I haven't heard of Buffet short selling anything.

This is literally one of the dumbest posts I've read, ever.

 
txjustin
oscar_the_grouchMany of those that called Buffet a hypocrite for asking for a tax hike and said that he should rather "cut a big check to the governmnet" should now see that the man means well. (by the way, why is it customary in the U.S. to say "the government," which usually refers to people in power, and not "the State" which actually refers to the set of institutions the government controls? I am curious and not making a "answer-the-question-yourself-to-be enlightened-like-me" kind of remark)

I doubt that relative to other things you could do with 5 billion right now, his investment in BofA will pay off any time soon. He's likely to be dead by the time this move makes sense and the profits will go to some charity.

So at the very least, Buffet is not just thinking how he can get richer but rather thinking how he can contribute to reconstructing some of the conditions of the U.S. of his youth that made it possible for a weirdo like himself to make a killing. And I am pretty pretty sure he also saved the U.S. some cash as well.

On a related point, do any of you know of a significant bet that Buffet has ever made against a particular company? I don't know too much about specific trades but I do know that, for example, Soros broke the pound and Chanos bet against Enron but I haven't heard of Buffet short selling anything.

This is literally one of the dumbest posts I've read, ever.

Really? How about a post like this one:

txjustin Maxine Waters is such a piece of shit. I hope her, Harry Reid, Sheila Jackson Lee, Nancy Pelosi, etc. go to hell a lot sooner than later.

Clearly very deep thoughts that foster a sense of community here and spark a productive conversation. But you are right, wondering whether there was a better opportunity out there for Buffet and then, rather than condemning someone to burn in hell actually considering that someone could be something other than an Econ101 rational agent, sounds truly retarded.

Thanks for taking the time to comment though. It's an honor to be on the list of superlatives you must keep next to your diary.

Best, Oscar

 
junkbondswapOscar,

Your post is literally one of the stupidest things that I have ever read on this site but I mean that in the nicest way

I take it in the nicest way possible as well. The basis for my opinion was thinking of Buffet actually buying 5 billion worth of another financial firm in the same public manner and say shorting Bank of America and saying he is convinced they are done and most of their business will be taken over by whatever bank he puts his money in to begin with.

So I do know that in absolute terms, Buffet will never put that much cash in a deal that is not going to pay off. And I am not sure what he could have gotten for those 5 billion had he chosen a different road. Just like inclusion on the S&P has an effect, Buffet putting money in a company clearly changes the way the market feels about it so maybe he could have used that market power in a different way.

That's what I meant by wondering whether there was a motive other than maximizing the return on this particular transaction (which could have been concern that the rest of his portfolio was too exposed to BofA).

But again, I do appreciate the "nicest possible way" caveat and sending a link. Thx again.

 

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