Warren Buffett

Value: Reality or Perception?

I can do no better this morning than to link to my revered Captain's Blog,  FORTUNE Managing Editor Andy Serwer's discussion of the most valued companies in the current marketplace.

The list is topped by Exxon (XOM), which is followed closely by Microsoft (MSFT) and Wal-Mart (WMT). Close on the heels of the big three are Apple (AAPL), whose market cap towers majestically over its actual revenue, and Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA), MORE

Too much Buffett?

I'm sure I don't need to remind the greatest investor in the world about the law of supply and demand. So I'll remind you instead. In this law of economics, a discipline that has no verifiable laws, this one holds up better than others over time. Here it is: If you limit supply, demand will grow. If you increase supply, demand will fall.

This is equally true for all products, from MORE

Has Warren gone off the rails?

I've been in a good mood all week about the announcement that Warren Buffett was investing $32 billion in Burlington Northern Santa Fe, the nation's 2nd largest railroad. "From my standpoint, it's a lot easier to make a $32 billion investment than 10 $3 billion investments," Mr. Buffett said, and also noted, with his customary dry wit, that he was probably doing it because his dad never bought him a train set MORE

Sun Valley's epitaph

There were no big deals. There weren't even very many interesting conversations. The frustration of the media who cover the event was palpable. There was so little information and activity, in fact, that there wasn't even much for them to make up. They hate that.

The two biggest items to emerge were that everybody liked to talk about Twitter but nobody could figure out whether it had a business model, including MORE

This just in! Survey finds surveys superfluous!

According to a new survey conducted in late January by Charles Schwab, 85% of all independent advisors believe that the recession will be over in a couple of years. Two or so, they think. Perhaps a little more. Or less.

Some believe that it will be over by the end of this year, but not many.

Others think it's going to be bad until late 2011, although they are in the minority, MORE

Puttin' on the pay cap

First of all, let me say that I'm supportive of President Obama's measures to limit executive pay in companies that accept new bailout money. There are loopholes that I'm sure smart guys will be able to finesse a bit, but for the most part it limits the comp of senior executives working in such firms to $500,000. Now, this may seem like a lot of money to people who do MORE

In which I come face to face with an American investor

I flew from here to there last night. As sometimes happens in Business, I ran into somebody who is in business. We swapped a few observations for a while. After some time, I felt so appalled that I was forced to feign sleep. I think it was over St. Louis.

I should have known I was in some trouble when we were still on the ground in Los Angeles. The chief MORE

What I'm praying for this weekend

A bailout that doesn't sell out the American people. A return to some kind of sane discourse in the electoral process, which has been pushed relentlessly into the Rovian realm recently.

The stock market: A (Psycho)analysis

If the stock market was a person, what kind of person would it be?

I consider this issue this morning because of the way it behaved yesterday. First it was elated by Warren Buffett's offer to back up bond insurers. I was there with the most gaga of the bunch. Later on, as the NY Times reports, the market got queasy about the fact that getting bailed out of their MORE

Thanks, Mr. Buffett!

On Tuesday, Warren Buffett declared that he has offered to assume liability for insurance on the municipal bonds that three major bond insurers now cover, to the tune of $800 billion.

The good news is that one firm has already rejected the offer, Buffett says. So it must feel it's okay without the help of Berkshire Hathaway. I guess that's not altogether a bad thing, huh? I mean, I'm not totally sure that I'll be all MORE