Buffett's portfolio changes

[HenryTo]

Following article courtesy of WSJ:
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Berkshire Reports Owning
Shares of Sanofi, Lexmark

By KAREN RICHARDSON
August 14, 2006 6:56 p.m.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. bought shares of French drug-maker Sanofi-Aventis SA and appeared to have sold shares in Lexmark International Inc., a printer maker and imaging company.

In a securities filing listing its top stock holdings, Berkshire reported owning 488,500 American Depositary Receipts of Sanofi-Aventis as of June 30. Berkshire, the Omaha holding company owned by multibillionaire Warren Buffett, did not report owning the stock in a filing covering the three months ended March 31.

The New York Stock Exchange-listed ADRs of Sanofi-Aventis have fallen about 6.7% since March 31. They ended up 0.58% on Monday at $43.42.

Berkshire, which owns more than 40 companies ranging from fast-food chain International Dairy Queen Inc. to underwear-maker Fruit of the Loom, did not report owning shares in Lexmark as of June 30, suggesting it has reduced or sold its stake. Berkshire reported owning 2.5 million Lexmark shares as of its March 31 filing.

Lexmark shares have been struggling to recover after a steep drop in October 2005, when it reported earnings significantly lower than Wall Street expectations. The news knocked 29% off the stock in a single day.

Also absent from Berkshire's latest list of stocks were clothing-retailer Gap Inc. and consumer-products maker Johnson & Johnson. Berkshire's March 31 filing reported 10 million Gap shares and two million Johnson & Johnson shares.

The Johnson & Johnson stake from March 31 wasn't reported until Monday. Berkshire, like other major investors, is often permitted to keep some holdings confidential if disclosure would damage an investment strategy. In a supplemental disclosure on Monday, Berkshire said the confidential treatment for the March 31 Johnson & Johnson stake had "expired."

[HenryTo]

A recap of Berkshire's most recent purchases:

http://news.morningstar.com/articlenet/article.aspx?id=447803

[rffrydr]

Traditionally not a fan of Berkshire but have grown to Buffett and his wily ways--and Berkshire may irony of ironies become a "value" play if this finreg hysteria fully wraps him up. He most certainly has not come through this crises unscathed and as been echoed in the landlocked plains of Omaha, "it's only when the tide goes out that we see who's been swimming naked!"

'07 valuations on those monster puts is clearly not gonna fly. The SEC is being nice. Soooooo......

http://seekingalpha.com/article/219085-just-one-etf-a-deep-discounted-cef-with-cash-and-insider-backing

Many admonishments to jumping on the CEF train. And any fund one-quarter tied to Berkshire smells from the outset. Overseers can do anything at anytime for no reason so a discount is to be expected esp. for non-income oriented funds. Dividends can be fudged (this one has none!). But that can work in holder's favor as well. Read the comments....watch the illiquidity and look for a GE-like flush of the thin-skinned. Even that 2% fee buys you nine-years of mistiming.
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Today is the Tomorrow you worried about Yesterday!

[rffrydr]

$8 billion collateral against market puke gives Berkshire a new scissors headache. Amid talk of the "sanctity of a contract" he plans on posting stock. I wish I could do that. They only let me post t-bills....hey

http://www.cnbc.com/id/38027397
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Today is the Tomorrow you worried about Yesterday!