In an interview on CNBC television today, Warren Buffett disclosed that he wants to pursue buying some of AIG’s units. This could reduce the impact of the AIG bailout on taxpayers since Berkshire Hathaway can help shore up some of the weaknesses in AIG as those units are integrated into Buffett’s empire. According to Reuters:
Buffett said he expressed interest in buying parts of the giant insurer over the Sept. 13-14 weekend, when regulators and financial industry executives were holding emergency talks on problems that included the fate of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (LEHMQ.PK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which filed for bankruptcy protection on Sept. 15.
Buffett’s current thought is to buy some of these units as they come up for sale over the next year or so.
This comes on the heels of an even bigger announcement Tuesday that Buffet is planning to invest $5 billion in Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Buffett is providing a great example of how we can best resolve the current crisis. Instead of leaning on taxpayers to solve this, get the business world, especially stronger investment companies like BH, to provide well analyzed and planned investments to support the companies that have the best opportunity for recovery.
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I noticed that the Wall Street Journal web site has changed significantly, providing more of a “newspaper” look to the front page of the site. I had not been there in a couple of weeks, and I’m assuming this change coincided with changes to the format of the front page of the print edition… dropping the “What’s News” section mostly below the fold and pushing the top story across 5 of the 6 columns on the front page… a big increase.
I like the web site changes. The paper edition is okay except there’s less content (where I tend to start my day) in “What’s News” now.
