Is Warren Buffett Insane?

Catchy title, eh? I came across this interesting article from The Motley Fool. If you recall, I posted about Warren Buffett's call to buy American stocks awhile back. That sure was a bold prediction and with banks failing, credit markets deadlocked, unemployment skyrocketing, you would think Warren Buffett must really be insane.

On the other hand, this is Warren Buffett, and he's made these sorts of predictions before.

Talk about buying shares, I wonder if online trading is a better option than the regular way of calling up your stock-broker. What do you think?

Warren Buffett says "Buy American. I Am."

Warren Buffett is now buying American stocks and in his New York Times editorial, he is urging people to follow his lead.

Would this apply to other bourses as well since the other markets look up to the US market for direction? Advising against holding cash, he said cash is a terrible long-term asset, one that pays virtually nothing and is certain to depreciate in value.

Buffett says he's been buying stocks in his own personal account, in which he previously owned nothing but United States government bonds. If prices stay attractive, all of his personal holdings will be 100% U.S. equities.

Why is Buffett taking this strategy?

"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."

Buffett emphasizes that he has no idea what the market will do in the short term but equities will almost certainly outperform cash over the next decade, probably by a substantial degree.

There you have it, insight from currently the richest American.

Of Weather and Recession...

Yesterday's heavy downpour over the Klang Valley could be an omen that all's well again? If only things are that simple.

The bank bailout by the British government may have relieved some pressure on the world economy, allayed some fears, changed some stats. Like this one, beating Bill Gates, Warren Buffett has become the richest American on the Forbes 400 list. This is on paper, of course, until the dollars are in physical hard cash. Still. A feat no less and imagine how much sponsorships that could take care of, not that he is not sponsoring.

The Star reported that Asian markets rallied and KLCI picked up 19 points. However, analysts say the coast is not clear and volatility is expected. Everyone is watching Dow's reaction. Whatever gains or technical rebounds there are can evaporate just as quickly as they came.

Malaysia is not in danger of slipping into a recession, our Prime Minister assured us. But will this stand the test of time?

Back to the weather. Weather forecast for Kuala Lumpur says partly cloudy which was the similar forecast yesterday morning when I checked but it switched to thunderstorms by afternoon. Hope the good weather holds up today. The downpour the past few days caused some flooding in the Petaling Jaya area and yesterday's caused some roofs flying off from an apartment block in Rawang. As a temporary measure, a huge canvas is used to protect the homes while the authorities figure out which party should be fixing the problem.


Here is a shot I just took. Funny how clouds are always hovering over the city center. There is a scientific explanation, naturally, but we won't go into that.


Here is another part of Kuala Lumpur. Look at those lovely white clouds. These days, I am into cloud-watching, haven't you noticed? It's hard to miss them when they are looming right in front of you in your office.


It's not only clouds that catch the attention. These are shots taken yesterday after the rain and before the sun quietly gave way to the stars.



...and, I leave you with something for your listening and viewing pleasure, "Vincent" by Don McLean and beautiful artwork by - Vincent Van Gogh. Thank goodness for such beauty. Enjoy..