Sunday, October 19, 2008

Fears regarding US stocks make no sense: Warren Buffett

Legendary investor Warren Buffett has said he is buying American stocks and feels that fears regarding long-term prosperity of country's
many sound companies 'makes no sense'.

In an opinion column written in the New York Times, the billionaire investor said he "cannot predict the short-term movements of the stock market".

"...I've been buying American stocks. This is my personal account I'm talking about, in which I previously owned nothing but United States government bonds," said Chief Executive of Berkshire Hathaway Buffett.

"A simple rule dictates my buying: be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. And most certainly, fear is now widespread, gripping even seasoned investors," he pointed out.

According to Buffett, the financial world is in a mess, unemployment would rise in the near term and business activity would falter.

Writing in the New York Times, Buffett said "to be sure, investors are right to be wary of highly leveraged entities or businesses in weak competitive positions".

"But fears regarding the long-term prosperity of the nations many sound companies make no sense. These businesses will indeed suffer earnings hiccups, as they always have. But most major companies will be setting new profit records 5, 10 and 20 years from now," he asserted.

Pointing out that he does not have 'faintest idea' whether stocks would be higher or lower, Buffet noted, "what is likely, however, is that the market will move higher, perhaps substantially so, well before either sentiment or economy turns up." He felt equities would almost certainly outperform cash over the next decade.

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