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Warren Buffett to Buy a Railroad
Warren Buffett's firm, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., made a deal to buy railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. Tuesday, agreeing to purchase the 77.4 percent of the company it doesn't already own at $100 a share. The railroad's stock closed Monday at $76.07 a share but approached $100 in pre-market trading immediately after the deal announcement. The transaction, which would rank as the largest takeover in Berkshire's history, is valued at $44 billion. Buffett, the country’s richest man and one of the most influential market movers, is calling the purchase "an all-in wager on the economic future of the United States."
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amapola101
What a great Day for america.!This is what we need to hear. Productive,deals, people making money and our economy moving.I hope everyone makes fortunes, if the stock holders, and the investors make money capitalism is working. And I have no problem,whoever the ceos, or president of the company,makes huge bonuses, because if they are tied to their productivity,I hope they pay very high salaries.They will.!!
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n--Y--grumpyguywhen-the-whip-comes-down
I hope that Buffett doesn't have a heads up on some big government contract to provide transportation services to the FEMA concentration camps that would be making soilent green chips. Boy that would be a real money making venture that the conservatives could believe in!
amapola101
Congratulations to everyone involved.Good news.
dcbooknurse
Oh, you're happy now. But if he buys Park Place and Boardwalk and then starts building hotels you'll be sorry.
squiggy
Used to whip my Dad by having "all" the railroads! LOL Never stop at one!!!!!
spittingoutteeth
Buffet stole my Monopoly strategy---stock up on the railroads :)
matthewbenzor
He made a fortune in the Goldman Sachs deal.....! What did he invest 5 billion dollars with 10% interest, thats a killing and the TaxPayer has to pay that interest......! Mr.Buffet help MainStreet "NOW" that you helped yourself on the Taxpayer dime,and took advantage of taxpayer money,Start the Charity called MAINSTREET CHARITY to help familys on MAINSTREET I'll even run it for you, I'll make sure familys who working and hurting to feed the children and cloth them .help some elderly folks pay for there medications, HELP OUT AMERICAN FAMILYS come on MR.BUFFET you can share , Cast your bread on many waters and it will return to you.Proverbs 19:17 He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,and he will reward him for what he has done, Proverbs 22:9 A generous man will himself be blessed,for he shares his food with the poor.Proverbs28:27 He who gives to the poor will lack nothing,But he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses. Mr.Buffet Your charitys help out those in other lands ,thats fine ,But what about americans and american children ,You and Mr.Gates have chosen to help the sick and needy in other lands,bless you for that, But what about american familys , I CHALLENGE YOU MR.BUFFET ITS CALLED MAINSTREET CHARITY will you start it
devilsadvocate
There's nothing wrong with Buffett's success. Buffett never claimed to be generous, and in fact has said he's not generous, which is the reason for his success and wealth.
kdj-kdj
True... there is no rule that says he needs to be a decent human being.
cbeenthere
Oh, I beg to differ, devil, Buffet has been very invested with Gates in the Gates Foundation. He is indeed very generous. While, he is an astute businessman, he understands money, which is the reason for his success.
devilsadvocate
cbeenthere....that is true....very involved with Gates and the Gates Foundation. I only made the generous comments because that's what Buffett himself said. Someone complimented him for being "very generous", and Buffett rejected his compliments and said that he didn't become one of the wealthiest in the world by being generous. The bulk of his wealth will be given to the Gates Foundation after he dies. A good, generous thing indeed, but he's holding on to all of it before that. Because he's giving the Gates Foundation stock, it's in Buffett's interest for that wealth to be retained and grown, in order to maximize its effect and value.
kdj....for the reasons I listed above, it does not mean he's not a decent human being. He doesn't give much now, but after he dies, he's giving away everything to the Gates Foudation. He wants that to be a meaningful gift and one that does not diminish in value.
I only made my original comments bc of what matthew said with the Proverbs quote. It's arguable that Buffett is generous, but Buffett himself doesn't claim to be so, and he is not worried about being seen as so or not.
nb-moe
You go that right devilsadvocate. One of my college teachers told me story about Mr. Buffet denying his granddaughter $200.00 to go to a summer camp. His reason.....he said would set a bad precedent to the rest of the family. Imagine!! Being worth some 45 billion $$$ and not giving $200.00 to your grand-daughter.
Not sure how mcuh truth to this.....just what I heard.....haven't verified. Seems kinda untrue with how much he gave Gates.....who knows?
Brendino
Buffett doesn't coddle himself like other CEOs, and he's never coddled his family. I respect that.
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n--Y--squareyellowpaperdjanimaequeen
It worked for Henry VIII. LOL. Seriously I do agree that churches should be taxed for the simple fact that they feel a need to insert themselves in governement policies and lawmaking. The mormons campaigned heavily in the prop 8 debacle here in CA, it's criminal that they should be exempt. If the church insists on nosing in on my life and making decisions that effect ALL citizens, then they should pay for it.
when-the-whip-comes-down
djanimaequeen:
You are probably more right than you realize... In the past centuries the influence of the church on the state was far more pronounced and was even considered treasonous. In Andrew Jackson's administration there was concern about Jesuit infiltration of the government and ultimately the level of corruption had risen to the point that he shut down the central bank. I find it a coincidence at the number of parallels that there are with today's environment.
Check it out:
http://www.pacinst.com/terrorists/chapter2/jackson.html
when-the-whip-comes-down
And then there is Paul Craig Roberts who is a undersecretary of the treasury under Ronald Regan who says that the United States fits the definition of a failed state with the criminals operating from within the government victimizing the public:
http://vdare.com/roberts/091020_failed_states.htm
edbutt
Buffett probably knows something we don't - like the price of oil will skyrocket once economies around the world start moving again
Cashmoney
Come on, folks, let's not make too much of this.
It's a paper transaction, nothing more. A Wall Street deal.
The operations of the BNSF remain unchanged. All Buffet is doing is paying the railroad's shareholders a big fat premium over yesterday's share price in order for Berkshire to take control.
Which can be a good thing. Or not.
But it's not like he went out with all that Berkshire money looking for entrepreneurs who need investors to put cash into a new venture that ends up creating thousands of well-paying jobs.
That's the difference between Bill Gates and Warren Buffet.
I like Buffet. But America needs more Bill Gateses than it needs more Warren Buffets.
kdj-kdj
I agree with your last statement as far as altruism is concerned.
As for concerning the business world, Gates is nothing but a thief (but a successful one).
apinkerton
Bravo. A vote of confidence for the US. Freight rail is cleaner and more efficient than trucking.
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n--Y--squareyellowpaperhockeydog
And, don't forget to mention that in the event of a real war, the rails are the only reliable means of transporting heavy equipment quickly. This investment truly does represent something significant for the future of America.
mcmchugh99
Wait until these railroads are converted to high speed systems, which will create a lot of new jobs over many years--especially in the West where the distances are so great.
About half of teh countries freight is moved by rail, and is probably going to increase when the rail lines are updated and modernized.
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n--Y--squareyellowpaperThis user is no longer registered.
n--Y--grumpyguynodrama
SAINT WARREN! YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING.
Buffett is a very reasonable and sometimes appealing individual, but I don't get the fawning admiration Buffett gets, particularly from the "liberal" media. (Is the "liberal" media include the camp followers of the financial press like Maria Bartiromo, Erin Barnett?)
Buffett made much of his wealth in the insurance industry which is hardly a model of charity or good ethics. He holds large stakes in Wells Fargo (one of the TARP charity cases and big player in credit cards and residential real estate -- not at all a "good citizen"), and GE (multifaceted example of corporate corruption as a defense contractor, manufacturer of over-prices healthcare products/CTs and MRIs, a finance company, and manipulator of the media through NBC), and Goldman, Sacks.
We could go through each of Buffett's holdings and point out further examples of corporate greed, dishonesty and exploitation of consumers and government. While he has a wonderful manner and sometimes tells the truth about the world of finance, can't we look at this man more realistically?
when-the-whip-comes-down
I was wondering what the link is between Buffett, the Rockefeller's. the banks and the WTC... Thank You!
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