INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
By Nir KaissarWarren Buffett is waiting for one last fat pitch.
The Oracle of Omaha released his annual letter to shareholders of Berkshire
late last month and followed it with a marathon interview on CNBC two days later
What we learned is that, for Buffett, the two subjects are closely related
As my Bloomberg Opinion colleague Tara Lachapelle has already pointed out, Buffett will turn 90 this summer, so succession is top of mind
Which raises the question: Why wait? Buffett has more than earned his retirement after a career that spans more than six decades
the game until they have to
But I suspect the more important reason is that Buffett senses a historic investing opportunity coming, probably the last of his career, and
he has no intention of watching from the sidelines
Buffett has a knack for spotting trouble in financial markets
He was also puzzled by the widespread use of derivatives in the 2000s before they blew up the financial system.
What vexes Buffett today is
driving up equity prices, particularly for outright purchases of companies, which he prefers to buying smaller stakes in public companies
money so cheaply in buying those businesses
Obviously, you can pay more for a business if you can borrow a very high percentage of the purchase price and of the future cash flow
And you can borrow at low rates with very little in the way of restrictive covenants or anything of the sort
I lost count of the number of times he made that point in his interview
A bond can be a good buy or a bad buy
And nearly a third is in shares of Apple Inc., which Buffett began buying in early 2016 when the stock traded at an average
price-to-earnings ratio of just 10.6 during the first quarter of that year, based on 12-month trailing earnings per share, nearly half the
up his stock charts.
(This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of economictimes.com, Bloomberg LP and its owners)
