Dennis Gartman: "Warren Buffett is an Idiot"

Yeah, according to The Daily Crux, this headline is a true one...Gartman did refer to Buffett as "an idiot" for allowing Berkshire's stock to drop 45%.

The Gart-Man has since rescinded the statement - but The Crux reports that to Gartman's credit, he's actively shorting Berkshire Hathaway.

I've had a trial subscription to Gartman's Letter before, and thoroughly enjoyed it...though the price tag was too much for me to stomach ($500/mo or something like that).

Fan of Gartman? Check out his recent thoughts on China - a great read.

Marc Faber: The 2009 Global Economy Will Be A "Total Disaster"

Marc Faber's observations on a CNBC interview from December 1, 2008:

• We're experiencing the largest asset deflation since World War II

• Since 2001, every asset class in the world went up - except the US dollar. Fast forward to 2008, and every asset class has collapsed - except the US dollar.

• The global economy will continue to deteriorate badly next year. It will be a "total disaster".
  

• He sees a short-term rally in US stocks, due to the current oversold conditions.

• The "Warren Buffett" approach of buying and holding stocks has been dead for 10 years, and it will be dead for another 10 years.

• He expects volatility to stay sky high. It will be a "trader's market".

• Equities will not make new highs in real terms for years to come.

• Commodities have corrected within a bull market. He believes there are opportunities to be found there.

• The Chinese economy is a "disaster." It's going to get worse.
  

Marc Faber's current investment recommendations:

• Commodities...when the global economy recovers (and he expects this to take 5-10 years!)

• Within the next 12 months - short US long term government bonds
  

Part I: Marc Faber on CNBC - Dec 1, 2008:




Part II - Marc Faber on CNBC - Dec 1, 2008:



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Warren Buffett: I'm Buying US Stocks Now

Staying on our "guys who got this trend right" theme - Warren Buffett has been standing on the sidelines holding a war chest of cash over the past few years.

Buffett writes in a New York Times op-ed that he is now deploying his cash hoard into US stocks.

"Fears regarding the long-term prosperity of the nation's many sound companies make no sense," wrote Buffett. "Most major companies will be setting new profit records 5, 10 and 20 years from now."

"Bad news is an investor's best friend," Buffett said. "It lets you buy a slice of America's future at a marked-down price."

Buffett joins Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban in the "going long" stocks club.

Warren Buffett Interview on CNBC

Video Link

My notes:

• He is VERY concerned with the current levels of inflation. This is striking, as you rarely hear Warren Buffett mention inflation.
• If he were in Bernanke's shoes, he would "offer his own resignation".
• Still believes the dollar will weaken further over time - mentioned lack of Congressional discipline.
• Oil price is being driven by supply/demand, not speculators. For the first time in his lifetime, there is no excess capacity. Speculators are not driving the price because they are not storing it - for each speculative long, there is a corresponding speculative short.
• And then he rambled on about his socialistic views - I should pay more taxes, blah, blah, blah.
  

Buffett Expects Weak Dollar to Continue

Over the weekend, Warren Buffet commented if he "landed from Mars today with a billion of Mars dollars, or whatever they call them on Mars, and I was thinking about where to put my money,'' he wouldn't put it all in the U.S. currency.

Full article on Bloomberg