Friday, March 6, 2009

Buffett says U.S. Treasury bubble one for the ages

Voltron says: I've done well shorting Warren Buffett stocks such as Wells Fargo and Moody's; however, I think he has the right idea about Treasuries.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway Inc sits on $25.54 billion of cash, said worried investors are making a costly mistake by buying up U.S. Treasuries that yield almost nothing.

In his widely read annual letter to Berkshire shareholders, the man many consider the world's most revered investor said investors are engulfed by a "paralyzing fear" stemming from the credit crisis and falling housing and stock prices. Treasury prices have benefited as investors flocked to the perceived safety of the "triple-A" rated debt.

But Buffett said that with the U.S. Federal Reserve and Treasury Department going "all in" to jump-start an economy shrinking at the fastest pace since 1982, "once-unthinkable dosages" of stimulus will likely spur an "onslaught" of inflation, an enemy of fixed-income investors.

"The investment world has gone from underpricing risk to overpricing it," Buffett wrote. "Cash is earning close to nothing and will surely find its purchasing power eroded over time."

"When the financial history of this decade is written, it will surely speak of the Internet bubble of the late 1990s and the housing bubble of the early 2000s," he went on. "But the U.S. Treasury bond bubble of late 2008 may be regarded as almost equally extraordinary."

....

He also cautioned Treasury investors not to feel "smug" when they see commentators endorsing their investments.

"Beware the investment activity that produces applause," Buffett wrote, "the great moves are usually greeted by yawns."

Full article: http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE51R1PU20090228

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