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June 2, 2010
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Mark Lennihan/AP
By Jacob Goldstein
Warren Buffett -- the wise, grandfatherly investor -- has described derivatives as "financial weapons of mass destruction."
Warren Buffett -- the billionaire financier -- today had this to say about those weapons:
I use them to make money. If I think they're mispriced, I buy them.Both sides of Buffett were on display today.
He was testifying before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, which was looking into the role the ratings agencies played in the crisis.
Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway is a major shareholder in Moody's, one of the big ratings agencies.
The agencies agencies are paid by businesses and governments to issue credit ratings, which are hugely influential in the bond market. The agencies put their highest ratings on lots of mortgage-backed bonds that got hammered in the housing bust.
Here's Buffett the financier on Moody's:
I've never been in Moody's. I don't know where they're located. I know their business model is extraordinary.And here's Buffett the grandfatherly investor saying the same thing, by way of analogy:
We own a significant position in Procter & Gamble. ... I don't know how they make Tide.Buffett suggested that Moody's wasn't really to blame for missing the magnitude of the housing bubble, because almost everybody missed it, including him. "I blew it," he said.
And he suggested that the high credit ratings now assigned to cities and states might be called into question in a few years.
"There will be a terrible problem," with state and local government debt, he said. "And then the question becomes, will the federal government help them?"
Bonus Buffett: Read our posts on Buffett's lobbying on derivatives, his stake in Goldman Sachs and the backstory behind his appearance today.
categories: Finance
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comments
Mark Lennihan/AP
By Jacob Goldstein
Warren Buffett -- the wise, grandfatherly investor -- has described derivatives as "financial weapons of mass destruction."
Warren Buffett -- the billionaire financier -- today had this to say about those weapons:
Both sides of Buffett were on display today.
He was testifying before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, which was looking into the role the ratings agencies played in the crisis.
Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway is a major shareholder in Moody's, one of the big ratings agencies.
The agencies agencies are paid by businesses and governments to issue credit ratings, which are hugely influential in the bond market. The agencies put their highest ratings on lots of mortgage-backed bonds that got hammered in the housing bust.
Here's Buffett the financier on Moody's:
And here's Buffett the grandfatherly investor saying the same thing, by way of analogy:
Buffett suggested that Moody's wasn't really to blame for missing the magnitude of the housing bubble, because almost everybody missed it, including him. "I blew it," he said.
And he suggested that the high credit ratings now assigned to cities and states might be called into question in a few years.
"There will be a terrible problem," with state and local government debt, he said. "And then the question becomes, will the federal government help them?"
Bonus Buffett: Read our posts on Buffett's lobbying on derivatives, his stake in Goldman Sachs and the backstory behind his appearance today.
categories: Finance
Del.icio.us Digg Facebook Mixx Reddit Stumble Upon Yahoo Share CommentsPlease note that all comments must adhere to the NPR.org discussion rules and terms of use. See also the Community FAQ.
NPR reserves the right to read on the air and/or publish on its Web site or in any medium now known or unknown the e-mails and letters that we receive. We may edit them for clarity or brevity and identify authors by name and location. For additional information, please consult our Terms of Use.
Recent FirstOldest FirstMost RecommendedView all comments »
< previous post next post > please take our surveyWe're trying to learn more about our readers and listeners. Please take our survey. Thanks!
search Planet Money Get the PodcastLost in a galaxy of economic news? Listen to the Planet Money podcast.
» Get the Podcast
About Planet MoneyPlanet Money is a multimedia team covering the global economy. You can follow us on this blog and on Twitter. You can also e-mail us directly and/or become a fan on Facebook.
recent Entries BP And The Challenge Of Low Probability, High Impact Risks Warren Buffett: Wise Grandfather vs. Billionaire Financier Will Offshore Drilling 'Go The Way Of Nuclear Power'? Steve Jobs: The iPad Came Before The iPhone The Tuesday Podcast: What If Everybody Chipped In To Pay Off The National Debt? Governments Stock Up On Gold Senators' Favorite Crisis Lit Get Free Housing For A Year! Please Take Our Survey! The Friday Podcast: Can A Public Radio Shirt Be Cool? Our Toxic Asset We Bought A Toxic Asset; You Can Watch It DieWhat better way to track the financial crisis than to own a piece of it. You can follow our dubious investment here.
RSS Feed Planet Money contributors Adam DavidsonCorrespondent
David KestenbaumCorrespondent
Chana Joffe-WaltCorrespondent
Jacob GoldsteinCorrespondent
Caitlin KenneyAssociate Producer
Amy StevensSupervising Editor
Alex BlumbergContributing Editor
Planet Money archive June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 planet money on the radio Payday Lending Draws Interest From Lawmakers Uncle Sam Needs You To Help Pay Down The Debt Planet Money's Toxic Asset Apparently Is Toxic more stories » npr always on Newsletters Podcasts Mobile RSS Feeds Widgets API Radio news U.S. World Opinion Politics Business Technology Science Health Sports arts & life Books Movies Pop Culture Food Performing Arts Games & Humor music Concerts You Must Hear This Interviews & Profiles Music News Music Blogs Rock/Pop/Folk Jazz & Blues Classical Browse Artists A-Z All Songs Considered From The Top JazzSet Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz Mountain Stage Song of the Day The Thistle & Shamrock World Cafe World Of Opera programs a-z Morning Edition All Things Considered Fresh Air The Diane Rehm Show On The Media On Point Talk of the Nation Tell Me More Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday Car Talk Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! listen Hourly News NPR Program Stream Schedule Find Station Streams more Multimedia Columns Blogs Analysis Commentary NPR Ombudsman Topic Index Sponsor NPR NPR Shop About NPR Jobs & Training Press Releases Copyright year = new Date(); document.write(year.getFullYear()); NPR Terms of Use Privacy Policy Permissions Corrections Text-Only Site Help Contact Us Donate Our partner in public broadcastingPlease note that all comments must adhere to the NPR.org discussion rules and terms of use. See also the Community FAQ.
NPR reserves the right to read on the air and/or publish on its Web site or in any medium now known or unknown the e-mails and letters that we receive. We may edit them for clarity or brevity and identify authors by name and location. For additional information, please consult our Terms of Use.
View all comments »
We're trying to learn more about our readers and listeners. Please take our survey. Thanks!
Lost in a galaxy of economic news? Listen to the Planet Money podcast.
» Get the Podcast
Planet Money is a multimedia team covering the global economy. You can follow us on this blog and on Twitter. You can also e-mail us directly and/or become a fan on Facebook.
What better way to track the financial crisis than to own a piece of it. You can follow our dubious investment here.
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