No Moss

What Does Warren Buffett See in General Electric?

Actually, Buprestid, Warren Buffett does own a significant position in GE from previous purchases (7.8 million shares). You can view his (actually Berkshire Hathaway's ) holdings as of 6/30/2008 at this web-site:

www.marketfolly.com/20...

His largest single holding is Coca-Cola.

What Does Warren Buffett See in General Electric?

This is the second article in which this author, who holds a short position, has postulated a drop from $21 to $10, without supporting his position. Well, I believe the stock will be $30 next year. I have no support for that position either. I am long the stock.

If I were short the stock, I would certainly be making unsupported statements to the effect the stock will halve in value by next year. Flog if long, flame if short.

Buyouts and Shakeups: How the Financial World Is Changing

The role of the GSEs made them incredibly vulnerable. Although they have been saved, it's unlikely that they will resume their role as freely as before, meaning that commercial banks will take up more of the "burden" of mortgage lending. Without mortgage guarantees, money will be tighter and loans will have higher standards and bigger down payments. Securitization will be reduced. The clear beneficiaries of this will be commercial banks, who have large deposit bases to use as a source of loans (in the absence of securitization).

Homes will be harder to finance, but worthy borrowers will still be able to get a home loan. Savings rates will go up as people save for down payments, home prices will stabilize to modest appreciation, dampening the rampant speculation that made them so unafforadable in the first place. HELOCs will be reduced as equity climbs more slowly. Things will return, for a time at least, so a slower, more stable pace.

Securities will replace homes as the investment vehicle of choice, and the stock market will go up.

It's not a new world, we're just going to rearrange things a bit.