{"id":370316,"date":"2010-02-27T11:11:00","date_gmt":"2010-02-27T16:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3087194156628161158.post-7601109335204798364"},"modified":"2010-02-27T12:06:54","modified_gmt":"2010-02-27T17:06:54","slug":"wall-street-journal-buffett%e2%80%99s-letter-quips-and-zingers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/370316","title":{"rendered":"WALL STREET JOURNAL: Buffett\u2019s Letter: Quips and Zingers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">By Matt Phillips<\/span><\/p>\n<ul class=\"cMetadata metadataType-articleStamp \">\n<li class=\"dateStamp first\"><small>February 27, 2010, 11:29 AM ET<\/small><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/shareinvestorforum.com\/viewtopic.php?f=36&amp;t=140&amp;p=1013#p1013\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Download the 2009 Warren Buffett Letter &amp; 2009 Annual Report to Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s no secret that people love reading America\u2019s most-beloved billionaire\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/shareinvestorforum.com\/viewtopic.php?f=36&amp;t=140&amp;p=1013#p960\" >letters to shareholders<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/shareinvestorforum.com\/viewtopic.php?f=36&amp;t=140&amp;p=1013#p960\">.<\/a> But it\u2019s not just because it offers dry insights on <span class=\"aptureLink \" id=\"apture_prvw1\"><span style=\"background-position: right -1348px;\" class=\"aptureLinkIcon\"> <\/span><a class=\"aptureLink snap_noshots\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Benjamin%20Graham\">Ben Graham\u2019s<\/a><\/span> doctrine of value investing. It\u2019s also because it\u2019s sort of like hanging out with your corny \u2014 and sometimes bawdy or scatological \u2014 uncle over the holidays. Make that your incredibly rich uncle.  Anyway here are some of this year\u2019s quips.<\/p>\n<p><strong>On Country Music:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Sing a country song in reverse, and you will quickly recover your car, house and wife.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>On the fact that Berkshire issued stock as part of its BNSF acquisition:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Charlie and I enjoy issuing Berkshire stock about as much as we relish prepping for a colonoscopy.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>On the upside potential for its longtime holding Geico:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>An old Wall Street joke gets close to our experience:<\/p>\n<p>Customer: Thanks for putting me in XYZ stock at 5. I hear it\u2019s up to 18.<\/p>\n<p>Broker: Yes, and that\u2019s just the beginning. In fact, the company is doing so well now,<br \/>that it\u2019s an even better buy at 18 than it was when you made your purchase.<\/p>\n<p>Customer: Damn, I knew I should have waited.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>A story on how a once-staid bank Berkshire owned stock in got an acute of deal fever:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Its managers \u2013 fine people and able bankers \u2013 not unexpectedly began to behave like teenage boys who had just discovered girls.<\/p>\n<p>The small-bank owner was being wooed by other large banks in the state and was holding out for a price close to three times book value. Moreover, he wanted stock, not cash. Naturally, our fellows caved in and agreed to this value-destroying deal. \u201cWe need to show that we are in the hunt. Besides, it\u2019s only a small deal,\u201d they said, as if only major harm to shareholders would have been a legitimate reason for holding back. Charlie\u2019s reaction at the time: \u201cAre we supposed to applaud because the dog that fouls our lawn is a Chihuahua rather than a Saint Bernard?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The seller of the smaller bank \u2013 no fool \u2013 then delivered one final demand in his negotiations. \u201cAfter the merger,\u201d he in effect said, perhaps using words that were phrased more diplomatically than these, \u201cI\u2019m going to be a large shareholder of your bank, and it will represent a huge portion of my net worth. You have to promise me, therefore, that you\u2019ll never again do a deal this dumb.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>A closing nod to its massive acquisition of BNSF, in the section on preparations for Berkshire\u2019s annual shareholder meeting<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-weight: normal;\">Come by rail.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"textBodyBlack\"><a name=\"comments\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Share Investor Links<\/span><\/a><a name=\"comments\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.shareinvestorblog.com\/\">Share Investor Blog<\/a> &#8211; Stockmarket &amp; Business commentary<br \/>Discuss this topic @<a href=\"http:\/\/www.shareinvestorforum.com\/\"> Share Investor Forum<\/a> &#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/shareinvestorforum.com\/ucp.php?mode=register&amp;sid=450a61250472e03fa25c205c9c1723f1\"><strong>Register<strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/a> free<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/shareinvestorforum.com\/viewtopic.php?f=36&amp;t=140&amp;p=1013#p1013\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Download the 2009 Warren Buffett Letter &amp; 2009 Annual Report to Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Recommended Amazon Reading<\/span><\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var addthis_pub=\"shareinvestor\";<\/script><\/p>\n<table id=\"searchResults\" cellspacing=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr class=\"clsOdd\">\n<td class=\"tdimage\"><a href=\"http:\/\/astore.amazon.com\/shareinvestorbookstore-20\/detail\/0966446127\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/ecx.images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/315%2BfrL4YuL._SL75_.jpg\" alt=\"The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America, Second Edition\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td class=\"tddescription\"><a href=\"http:\/\/astore.amazon.com\/shareinvestorbookstore-20\/detail\/0966446127\">The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America, Second Edition<\/a> by <span class=\"by\">Warren E. Buffett<\/span><br \/>Buy new:        $25.91       \/ Used from:        $20.00<br \/><span class=\"availability\">Usually ships in 24 hours<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"clsEven\">\n<td class=\"tdimage\"><a href=\"http:\/\/astore.amazon.com\/shareinvestorbookstore-20\/detail\/0553384619\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/ecx.images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/51hlhRX908L._SL75_.jpg\" alt=\"The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td class=\"tddescription\"><a href=\"http:\/\/astore.amazon.com\/shareinvestorbookstore-20\/detail\/0553384619\">The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life<\/a> by <span class=\"by\">Alice Schroeder<\/span><br \/>Buy new:        $13.60       \/ Used from:        $10.34<br \/><span class=\"availability\">Usually ships in 24 hours<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" border=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/rcm.amazon.com\/e\/cm?t=sharinve-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=7&amp;l=ez&amp;f=ifr&amp;f=ifr\" style=\"border: medium none ;\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"40\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"260\"><\/iframe>              <script type=\"text\/javascript\">var addthis_pub=\"shareinvestor\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var addthis_pub=\"shareinvestor\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var addthis_pub=\"shareinvesto<\/script><br \/><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var addthis_pub=\"shareinves<\/script><span id=\"articleText\"><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var addthis_pub=\"shareinvestor\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var addthis_pub=\"shareinvestor\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var addthis_pub=\"shareinvestor\";<\/script> <\/p>\n<div><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var addthis_pub=\"shareinvestor\";<\/script><br \/><a name=\"data:post.title\" id=\"data:post.url\" onmouseover=\"'return\" onmouseout=\"addthis_close()\" onclick=\"return addthis_sendto()\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/s7.addthis.com\/static\/btn\/lg-share-en.gif\" alt=\"Bookmark and Share\" style=\"border: 0pt none ;\" height=\"16\" width=\"125\" \/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/s7.addthis.com\/js\/200\/addthis_widget.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<p><!-- AddThis Button END --><\/p>\n<div class=\"blogger-post-footer\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\"><!--\ngoogle_ad_client = \"pub-1811166043296468\";\ngoogle_ad_width = 468;\ngoogle_ad_height = 60;\ngoogle_ad_format = \"468x60_as\";\ngoogle_ad_type = \"image\";\ngoogle_ad_channel =\"\";\n\/\/--><\/script><br \/>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"\n  src=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\n<\/script><img width='1' height='1' src='https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/tracker\/3087194156628161158-7601109335204798364?l=everythingwarrenbuffett.blogspot.com' alt='' \/><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/feedads.g.doubleclick.net\/~a\/XMJGOkSoGAaCs4Zb2EoTLpkOSkA\/0\/da\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feedads.g.doubleclick.net\/~a\/XMJGOkSoGAaCs4Zb2EoTLpkOSkA\/0\/di\" border=\"0\" ismap=\"true\"><\/img><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/feedads.g.doubleclick.net\/~a\/XMJGOkSoGAaCs4Zb2EoTLpkOSkA\/1\/da\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feedads.g.doubleclick.net\/~a\/XMJGOkSoGAaCs4Zb2EoTLpkOSkA\/1\/di\" border=\"0\" ismap=\"true\"><\/img><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"feedflare\">\n<a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/EverythingWarrenBuffett?a=cEFkVsdaJcA:Sy4KBP3M88A:yIl2AUoC8zA\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/EverythingWarrenBuffett?d=yIl2AUoC8zA\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~r\/EverythingWarrenBuffett\/~4\/cEFkVsdaJcA\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\"\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Matt Phillips February 27, 2010, 11:29 AM ET Download the 2009 Warren Buffett Letter &amp; 2009 Annual Report to Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders It\u2019s no secret that people love reading America\u2019s most-beloved billionaire\u2019s letters to shareholders. But it\u2019s not just because it offers dry insights on Ben Graham\u2019s doctrine of value investing. It\u2019s also because [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":833,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-370316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/833"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=370316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370316\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=370316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=370316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=370316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}