From Newsmax…
Despite the 6.5% stock market rally over the last three months, a handful of billionaires are quietly dumping their American stocks . . . and fast.
Warren Buffett, who has been a cheerleader for U.S. stocks for quite some time, is dumping shares at an alarming rate. He recently complained of “disappointing performance” in dyed-in-the-wool American companies like Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, and Kraft Foods.
In the latest filing for Buffett’s holding company Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett has been drastically reducing his exposure to stocks that depend on consumer purchasing habits. Berkshire sold roughly 19 million shares of Johnson & Johnson, and reduced his overall stake in “consumer product stocks” by 21%. Berkshire Hathaway also sold its entire stake in California-based computer parts supplier Intel.
With 70% of the U.S. economy dependent on consumer spending, Buffett’s apparent lack of faith in these companies’ future prospects is worrisome.
Unfortunately Buffett isn’t alone.
Fellow billionaire John Paulson, who made a fortune betting on the subprime mortgage meltdown, is clearing out of U.S. stocks too. During the second quarter of the year, Paulson’s hedge fund, Paulson & Co., dumped 14 million shares of JPMorgan Chase. The fund also dumped its entire position in discount retailer Family Dollar and consumer-goods maker Sara Lee.
Finally, billionaire George Soros recently sold nearly all of his bank stocks, including shares of JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs. Between the three banks, Soros sold more than a million shares.
Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.moneynews.com/MKTNews/billionaires-dump-economist-stock/2012/08/29/id/450265?PROMO_CODE=110D8-1&utm_source=taboola#ixzz2OVwBHPjm
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This “story” is over 6 months old. Although some parts of it were “true” back then, the purchases in place of P&G et al were WalMart, John Deere, and many other American *manufacturing* and product companies.
Most reports on what investment companies are buying and selling are considerably delayed to the general public for obvious investment mirroring reasons. When the public report is well past 6 months (meaning the investment changes could be considerably older than that), it might not be advisable to trade or make assumptions about the intentions of the operators. I hope this helps.
As always, this is not a solicitation to buy or sell anything nor is it constitute investment advice. As always contact your financial advisor for information on what may and may not be suitable for your own portfolio.
When I heard this last week I wondered where the big money was going next. And then I heard about the sale of farm land across the nation was on a rise and so were the prices for an acre.
Pick a state any state, well except for Calif. maybe, it looks like they’re all money makers. Where else can you get a 13-20% and better return?
Farm land in Illinois increased 20% and above last year and it was up from the years before.
Illinois Farmland Values Rise Again in 2012:
“The prices being paid for farmland across Illinois continue their upward spiral with the tops being in the $10,000 to $13,000 per acre range across the state. This is according to the 2012 Farmland Values and Lease Trends Report …
Respondents indicated that farmland values increased between 20 and 21 percent across land classes during 2011, …
Land price increases in 2011 were large compared to averages. Average yearly increases in land prices have av- erage 6.7 percent across all of Illinois between 1970 and 2011. Yearly increases have averaged 12 percent from 2005 to 2011.”
http://www.ispfmra.org/2012/04/illinois-farmland-values-rise-again-in-2012/
Ohio farmland values expected to rise in 2013:
“Ohio cropland values in Ohio increased in 2012 and are expected to continue on an upward trend in 2013, despite drought, an Ohio State University Extension expert says.”
http://ocj.com/2012/12/farmland-values-expected-to-rise-in-2013/
Food is going to get even more expensive folks, you’d better start filling your pantries now if you can.
Well, I was wrong. Calif. farmland and rural estates are on the rise too, big time.
Rural real estate sales rose 27.6% in 2012:
“According to United Country Real Estate, sales of rural real estate rose 27.6 percent to end 2012, compared to 2011.
“We achieved a roughly 100-percent increase in both volume and farm acres sold system-wide year-over-year,” Cole said in a statement. “We also saw large gains in residential auction sales, which were 41 percent better than 2011. United Country also delivered record farm sale prices for their selling clients in their auction services division throughout Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Iowa.”
“… dyed-in-the-wool American companies like Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, and Kraft Foods ….
This is nuts … and entire opposed to anything like objective reality. These corps are flaming multi-nationals that employ fewer Americans every year. You can’t be no player without a solid grasp of the fundamental facts.
Fundamental Fact No. 1: You will NEVER be a player; you will never be anything but “played”.
Now, having a solid grasp of this, maybe you can order your existence toward something like contentment, but the stock market will not be a big factor in this.