Comments on: A Very Expensive Berkshire/Goldman Deal

By: Jack Reacher

Jack Reacher — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 21:16:17 +0000

I would have thought that the readers of this blog knew SOMETHING about the investment world and economics. I was wrong.

I notice a lot of you either don’t want the deal to go through, or actually really think it “is Bush’s fault”. Funny.

Don’t you understand that if the banks fail, you won’t have anywhere to cash your payroll check? All the bravado of some posters—-LET ‘EM FAIL!!! only shows your ignorance. Why don’t you guys do some studying before you post next time.

Or maybe it’s that you don’t really have jobs or money at risk here in the markets ( including money markets ), a house, or anything else…you just like posting.

By: cloudy

cloudy — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 19:34:43 +0000

Do you think Buffet has some material, inside, non-public information on which he is making his investment?

By: brion

brion — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:00:43 +0000

“The White House has struggled to determine how best to deploy Bush during the crisis.”

Anbar.

By: brion

brion — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:44:25 +0000

–”The Bush Administration is basically saying either you give us this massive bailout or the economy will collapse. Who wants to take the chance of letting that happen?”–

So eerily (uncannily) like the Iraq War. Having “no good options”-being FORCED to choose between calamity or Catastrophe…There is a name for this process. What is it?

The Master of Disaster speaks this evening…
It’s a beautiful day in New York…
Not a banker in the sky….

By: flingcom

flingcom — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:32:16 +0000

Its truly amazing how one benefits from the others loss. These companies make sure they the are in the news …whatever it may be.

By: Newshoggers.com

Newshoggers.com — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:21:06 +0000

When in doubt, loot!

By Fester: TPM has the Republican Study Committee ‘proposal’ to ‘bail-out’ the stock market. And it is a doozy as it is a complimation of supply sider masteurbatory fantasies that have no connection to any reality that is not the

By: Marc in Ottawa

Marc in Ottawa — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:17:19 +0000

“And what do you want to bet me that Warren asked for — and got — a very serious promise from Bernanke & Paulson that Goldman would under no circumstances be allowed to tank like Lehman? This might even be a riskless deal for Buffett.”BR

But in exchange for that promise, they had Buffet come out and publicly endorse the bailout plan.

Classic!

By: JD

JD — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 16:16:20 +0000

It’s a good deal for Buffet because he is sure a bailout deal will get done, this is what he said on CNBC. Unfortunately they didn’t ask him if he thought it was a good deal if a bailout wasn’t done! But I guess he made it clear from his statement that it wasn’t. However he is sure a bailout will get done and I don’t doubt him. The Bush Administration is basically saying either you give us this massive bailout or the economy will collapse. Who wants to take the chance of letting that happen? Maybe its utter bs but now they’ve put it out there. The fact that they are so reluctant to add any executive compensation provisions to the bill makes me skeptical as hell. If you’re getting taxpayer money to bail you out of your mess, why should you walk home with millions of dollars? Paulson says any compensation limit will dissuade bankers from selling their assets. Good, so the bankers are putting their own self interests above those of their company and their stockholders? Frankly, if the banks aren’t going to participate in this if there is a limit to their executive compensation it tells me that they don’t really need the bailout as bad as they say in the first place. If your house is on fire and someone is coming to rescue you, do you care if they carry you away in an old Dodge versus a new Mercedes? No. But these bank executives are saying it does matter, which tells me that they don’t really need to be saved in the first place. They’d just like it if the taxpayer pays for their mess.

By: randy

randy — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:57:10 +0000

using the word “smart” in reference to any of these asshats seems like a joke.

By: Mark E Hoffer

Mark E Hoffer — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:53:44 +0000

I’m not an economist, but I am a historian. And when I heard the news of Buffett’s buy being presented as a vote of confidence in the economy, I couldn’t help but think of 1929.

Shortly after the crash, John D. Rockefeller bought a million shares of Standard Oil of NJ and announced that he and his associates were continuing to buy sound common stocks. It was a pure PR play designed to prop up the markets.

I couldn’t help but think of that this morning.

Posted by: John R. | Sep 24, 2008 10:42:20 AM

Proving, yet again, what a fine Teacher History is.

And, others see, clearly, ol’ WEB is just another spider.

What he’s done to Carolina Boot, and Chippewa, is perfect example of ol’ Dude’s M.O..

and never forget ol’ WEB on his UST investment: “If ya can make for pennies, and sell it for ‘dollars’, and its addictive, to me, That’s a Business!”