Buffett Boosts BYD: Trader Talk
NEW YORK (
) --
Warren Buffett talks up BYD and Carl Icahn adds to positions in Take-Two in this, TheStreet's rundown of this week's trader chatter.
Buffett Boosts BYD
Shares of Chinese automaker BYD surged 6% in Hong Kong trading after
reiterated his commitment to the stock.
Buffett told China Central Television that his firm would hold onto shares of BYD for "many years" probably "past his lifetime." At a local media briefing, he said, "We have seen a very, very remarkable company at BYD".
His comments helped quell speculation that he was looking to sell the stock. In fact, an unnamed official of the company told local media that Buffett may actually raise his stake, according to a
Reuters
report.
The stock has soared in September by nearly 40% amid heightened media attention ahead of Buffett's visit to BYD's plants.
Carl Icahn Ups Stake in Take-Two
has been buying more shares in
Take-Two Interactive Software
(TTWO) - Get Report
according to a recent filing by
Icahn Capital
with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Icahn bought an additional 23,300 shares at $9.91.
In other news, the
New York Post
reported that Icahn, who owns $500 million of movie studio MGM's debt, is buying more and might make a fresh bid for the studio through
Lionsgate Entertainment
(LGF)
, in which he has a 30% stake.
Buffett: Berkshire Equipped For Succession
Warren Buffett
says
Berkshire Hathaway
(BRK.A) - Get Report
is "well- equipped" for succession after he and his partner Charlie Munger retire,
Bloomberg Businessweek
reports.
According to the report, the 80-year old billionaire investor told
China Central Television
that the majority of his time is spent talking with directors about their succession plan.
>>Check Out Buffett's Latest Portfolio
"We're very well-equipped for succession," Buffett said. "Just don't want it to happen too soon."
Paulson: Buy Homes Now
Billionaire hedge fund manager
John Paulson
, famous for his bet against sub-prime mortgages, says that this is the best time in 50 years to be buying homes with mortgage rates at record lows,
Forbes
reported.
"If you don't own a home, buy one," Paulson told a crowd at New York's University Club, according to the report. "If you own one home, buy another one, and if you own two homes buy a third and lend your relatives the money to buy a home."
>>Check Out Paulson's Latest Portfolio
Paulson also said that equities looked attractive with yields of 7-8% compared to treasury yields of 2.5%. He warned that the Fed's quantitative easing could bring double-digit inflation, advocating investors buy gold and avoid bonds.
Paulson is not the only top hedge fund manager to turn bullish on equities. Last week, 2009's top paid hedge-fund manager
David Tepper
told CNBC that stocks were going up no matter what, sparking off a broad market rally on Friday.
What's the "New Normal" Anyway?
Investment gurus can't seem to agree on what's normal anymore.
Bill Gross
, fund manager of the world's biggest bond fund, Pimco, says the investment world in entering a "new normal."
"The New Normal has a new set of rules. What once pumped asset prices and favored the production of paper, as opposed to things, is now in retrograde," said Gross in his
October investment note, released earlier this week. "Investors are faced with 2.5% yielding bonds and stocks staring straight into new normal real growth rates of 2% or less. There is no 8% there for pension funds. There are no stocks for the long run at 12% returns."
Basically, Gross says that the period of high returns is over, as deleveraging continues and yields remain low.
Not everyone agrees with Gross.
, CEO of Fisher Investments, called the new normal concept "idiotic,"
Bloomberg
reports. "The next 10 years are going to be just as good as the 1990s," Fisher said at The Forbes Global CEO Conference in Sydney, according to the report. "The problems in this current environment we think are so different, and so new and so unique. It's the same stupid old normal we've always had. We've got a great future."
-- Written by Shanthi Venkataraman in New York
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Disclosure: TheStreet's editorial policy prohibits staff editors and reporters from holding positions in any individual stocks.
