Posted on 01/03/2014 9:18:37 AM PST by gorush
Despite the 6.5% stock market rally over the last three months, a handful of billionaires are quietly dumping their American stocks . . . and fast.
Warren Buffett, who has been a cheerleader for U.S. stocks for quite some time, is dumping shares at an alarming rate. He recently complained of “disappointing performance” in dyed-in-the-wool American companies like Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, and Kraft Foods.
In the latest filing for Buffett’s holding company Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett has been drastically reducing his exposure to stocks that depend on consumer purchasing habits. Berkshire sold roughly 19 million shares of Johnson & Johnson, and reduced his overall stake in “consumer product stocks” by 21%. Berkshire Hathaway also sold its entire stake in California-based computer parts supplier Intel.
With 70% of the U.S. economy dependent on consumer spending, Buffett’s apparent lack of faith in these companies’ future prospects is worrisome.
Unfortunately Buffett isn’t alone.
Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.newsmax.com/Outbrain/billionaires-dump-economist-stocks/2012/08/29/id/450265#ixzz2pMBmh1GN Urgent: Should Obamacare Be Repealed? Vote Here Now!
(Excerpt) Read more at moneynews.com ...
Yeah, oldest play in the book. See the Rothchilds.
The world is about to see the collapse of the house of cards built in the US Stock Market as a direct function and result of quantitative easing (it in) by FedGov.
Buffett said the same about McDonald's. After he sold the stock, it took off. Buffett's made his money by gaming the system, not by picking stocks.
It is still far cheaper to make mac’n’cheese from scratch, it tastes better and you can feed 2x or more the number of people better for the same money. The college set and those who only have a single burner and a microwave have downsized to ramen. Personally, I swear by Bismati rice for my lowest cost carb. Fifty cents worth, raw, yields 4+ cups cooked and we find it’s larger grain size more satisfying in most dishes.
Selling J&J is probably smart. All the women I know, most of whom are solidly middle class or better, have switched to making their own cleaning products using the cheapest off brand vinegar, combined with various things like peroxide, alcohol, and reconstituted lime juice. Ammonia is still only $1.25/1/2 gallon. Add some baking soda for scouring and invest in a Norwex cleaning cloth set that only requires water to shine surfaces, and you have saved perhaps $30/month or more in various cleaning products. Many swear by homemade laundry detergent, too.
Off brand paper products, reuse of ziplock bags, foil and paper towels, all lower the monthly outgo.
This same consumer group is cautiously beginning to substitute various herbal teas and other *natural* products for OTC medications. Not sure of the savings, here, but it is still a switch away from those usual consumer goods.
Those who used to shop til they drop, now do so at consignment stores instead of department stores.
A chat among the girls, these days, is all about saving money and staying warm for less.
We did that - with everything - several years ago....sure, we don't earn squat, but we don't lose (other than inflational erosion) either.....and we sleep a whole lot better as a bonus.
1...2...3...PANIC! Quick pull out all your money!
HAHAHAHAHA!
Got PMs?
Gold, silver, lead, copper, steel.
What was the publication date for this?
I watched the video and noticed references to Gold “soaring”.
Depends on the spelling and definition of soaring - buyers are probably sore.
But the general warning seems valid. Fidelity just sent me some crappola recommending exactly the sectors the article says that Buffet, et al. are dumping...
I’m investing in canned tuna, peanut butter, and large bags of dog food for our two 4-legged security system add-ons.
From 5/24/12 (http://www.moneynews.com/StreetTalk/Faber-100chance-recession/2012/05/31/id/440837?PROMO_CODE=FEA0-1):
“In a recent interview for his newest book Aftershock, Wiedemer says, ‘The data is clear, 50% unemployment, a 90% stock market drop, and 100% annual inflation . . . starting in 2012.’”
From 8/21/12 (http://www.moneynews.com/aftershock-2013?PROMO_CODE=FD05-1):
“In a recent interview to talk about his New York Times best-seller Aftershock, Wiedemer says, ‘The data is clear, 50 percent unemployment, a 90 percent stock market drop, and 100 percent annual inflation… starting in 2013.’”
So... any day now. The sky will fall. Buy his book. Meanwhile, our investment portfolio is up 43% from May 2012 (that first article), so pardon me while I ignore this book selling scaremonger. I have faith in U.S. corporations and I invest heavily in their stocks. (But even I feel that a correction may come this year. We are currently 20% in cash.)
Some folks invest only in gold, some only in blue chip stocks, some only in land, some in a bit of everything. Invest in however it allows you to sleep at night.
Don’t forget coffee, ammo, and tobacco.
Good thoughts! Tobacco for trading, coffee for drinking, and we know what the ammo is for. :-)
There are plays to make on distrust of T-bills, short them.
“....Finally, billionaire George Soros recently sold nearly all of his bank stocks, including shares of JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs. Between the three banks, Soros sold more than a million shares.
So why are these billionaires dumping their shares of U.S. companies?”.....
They’re getting ready for the “shift” to World governance and Banking perhaps? Might need a terrible crash, first, to clear the board of the other than elite who don’t get wind of it soon enough to make the “switch/hold”.
Whenever big money moves or doesn’t move, or both...you know ‘something this way comes’.... and it’s going to hurt...
And soap.
Watch what happens to inflation when all that stock market money hits the general economy. It has the potential to look like Weimar Republic days again.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.