Buffet is Bullish on Trains

There has been a great deal of buzz this week about Warren Buffet discussing a recent purchase by his company. Buffet is noted for his candor, which makes him one of the more credible voices when it comes to the status of the economy and Wall Street in particular.

Recently, Buffet was found on the Fox Business network visiting with anchor Liz Claman. In particular, he was discussing his Berkshire Hathaway's gamble into the railroad business. Just recently the company purchased Burlington Northern Santa Fe in a deal worth about $44 billion.

This is a bold move for Buffet in a shaky economy, but typical of a person who has learned to take advantage of sales that can be found when a business environment is in decline. Furthermore, with the move towards reducing energy costs in order to support the environment and save dollars, trains are a very smart form of transportation. Buffet does not buy things he is not comfortable with and had already owned 25 percent of the company before he acquire the rest of it in a recent meeting in Fort Worth, Texas.

Why trains versus trucks or other forms of transportation? Buffet told Claman that "the rails move a freight at a much more environmentally friendly way than the truckers do. And they also only use about a third of the fuel. So, it's helping...It helps in terms of the atmosphere. It is a very, very efficient, effective, environmentally friendly way of moving freight. And, you know, our rail system is a huge asset to the country."

Claman covered a topic that is extremely important to anyone concerned about transportation. She noted that trains are, in transportation, the "cheapest, best way. But then there's cap-and-trade, Warren. Some analysts are very skittish about coal and a possible backlash if cap-and-trade goes through. You mentioned now -- you said, we're going to see a diminishing of coal use. But what do you think cap-and-trade would do to the business if that went through?"

Buffet can not easily dismiss the topic, but noted "It won't change the composition of what utilities are doing tomorrow or next week or next year. The utilities over time are going to use less coal and probably more nuclear. Our own utility, for example, uses wind very substantially in Iowa. So, over time, coal is going to diminish somewhat. Now, I think that will hit Eastern coal more than Western coal, but that's a fact of life over a considerable period of time. And that's true whether there's cap-and-trade or not, yes."

One of the things that caught my eye in the interview was Buffet's discussion of his view of the dollar in this current economy, stating "You're seeing us get rid of a lot of dollars today in exchange for a lot of assets. So, I would rather own physical assets than own dollars." Why? Because of the rapid decline of the value of dollars through the printing of money. Those of us who cannot afford to purchase railroads, might want to consider precious metals as a part of an investment strategy.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on AM 650 (M-F at 11 am) in Houston, Texas and on AOL Radio. His articles often appear in Chicago Sun Times, Reuters, USA Today, and other national media. Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com. You can also find Price on Strategy Room at FoxNews.com.

Is Buffett Bearish on Banks?

It appears that Warren Buffett and his Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. have become more than a little concerned about the health of banks. Reuters reported this morning that his insurance firm has "told one of its units to stop insuring bank deposits above the amount guaranteed by the U.S. federal government, the Wall Street Journal reported. The subsidiary, Kansas Bankers Surety Co, is notifying about 1,500 banks in more than 30 states that it will no longer offer a program called "bank deposit guaranty bonds."

This is a fairly far reaching move. After all, companies offer insurance products as a means of making profit. Furthermore, firms such as Hathaway are in the risk management and assessment business. This sends the message that this insurance company believes that the risks are greater than the profit potential, when it comes to this form of policy.

Typically before ending a product, insurance companies usually raise rates first. There is no word if Hathaway pursued such first. Also, there is no word yet if this is going to be an industry trend, since there is a small group of other companies who offer similar policies and no announcement from them on future plans or recent increases.

This policy was very important to banks that pursued wealthy customers who found insurance from the federal government of up to $100,000 in deposits inadequate. Much of the concern stems from the fact that the US has seen eleven banks fail in 2008 alone, the most since 2002 which some attributed to larger national financial problems following September 11th. More banks seem poised for failure, which only adds fuel to concerns.

This will force some of those wealthy depositors to do more research on where they bank, strengthen the positioning of smaller community banks (which tend to keep a closer eye on banking activities), and require customers to continue to pursue alternatives to banks for larger deposits (which often bring higher risks, costs, or both).

This policy change follows the federal government's bolstering of mortgage lenders Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. This move by the government led to a huge rally on Wall Street, but appears to have done little for Buffett in placating his concerns.

Kevin Price articles frequently appear at ChicagoSunTimes.com, Reuters.com, USAToday.com, and other national media. Get his commentaries in your email box by contacting Info@HoustonBusinessShow.com.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.