Buffett is buying

The Oracle of Omaha has turned into a buyer.

A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. And most certainly, fear is now widespread, gripping even seasoned investors. To be sure, investors are right to be wary of highly leveraged entities or businesses in weak competitive positions. But fears regarding the long-term prosperity of the nation’s many sound companies make no sense. These businesses will indeed suffer earnings hiccups, as they always have. But most major companies will be setting new profit records 5, 10 and 20 years from now.

A long-term outlook. I own P&G, Goldman Sachs, and GE, 3 companies he has a stake in: I bought P&G four years ago, Goldman Sachs a year and a half ago, and GE just recently. All three are solid companies with a strong franchise, a good name, and a track record of success. I intend to keep them long-term.

Equities will almost certainly outperform cash over the next decade, probably by a substantial degree. Those investors who cling now to cash are betting they can efficiently time their move away from it later. In waiting for the comfort of good news, they are ignoring Wayne Gretzky’s advice: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.”

I don’t like to opine on the stock market, and again I emphasize that I have no idea what the market will do in the short term. Nevertheless, I’ll follow the lead of a restaurant that opened in an empty bank building and then advertised: “Put your mouth where your money was.” Today my money and my mouth both say equities.

I'm in.

Lou Gehrig: Iron Horse

A little maudlin, rather romanticized piece; clearly the man idolizes Gehrig, which ain't bad. The picture in the newspaper has a sepia tone, which makes it great. Still, it's Gehrig.

At the end of this baseball season, we will say goodbye to Yankee Stadium. My favorite memory of the ballpark comes from a game played 70 years ago this month. I wasn't there, but I have a picture of it in my mind, and I will cling to it when they tear up the sod and knock down the walls this winter.

I was so out of touch with baseball that I didn't even realize the Stadium was being replaced. My great memory is going to the Stadium for a double-header the Yankees played against the Red Sox: Elston Howard Day. Pepitone hit a grand-slammer in the first inning. After the second game, we walked out onto the warning track to get out of the Stadium; I remember standing by the 463ft. sign, looking toward home plate, and thinking it seemed very far away.