Companies turning to Warren Buffet for financing

Buffett to buy $250M Tiffany debt
Jewelry maker becomes the latest company to turn to Berkshire Hathaway for financing.

(Source CNN Money)
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has agreed to buy $250 million of debt from luxury jewelry maker Tiffany & Co., the latest in a string of high-yielding investments by the billionaire investor.
New York-based Tiffany said it sold Berkshire $125 million of eight-year notes and $125 million of 10-year notes, all yielding 10%. It said it will use the proceeds to refinance debt and for general corporate purposes.
The investment marks at least the seventh time since September that Berkshire has gotten at least a 10% payout by buying company bonds, preferred stock or convertible securities.
Many companies are turning to Berkshire for financing as the global credit crisis makes it too difficult or costly to raise money from institutional investors.

Warren Buffett's Dateline Interview with NBC's Tom Brokaw: The Complete Transcript,

Warren Buffett's Dateline Interview with NBC's Tom Brokaw: The Complete Transcript,

Buffett tells Brokaw that Barack Obama is the right "commander in chief for the economy" but warns that no one should expect a "miracle" turnaround in the next few months.
Buffett and Brokaw also covered many other topics, including Obama's leadership style, excessive executive compensation, the challenges facing Detroit's automakers, China, and the role of greed in good times and bad.
This is the complete transcript of that interview, as provided by NBC News


TOM BROKAW, NBC NEWS:

(UNINTEL)-- pollster told me that the election was between hope and fear. When it comes to the economy, who's winning, hope or fear?

WARREN BUFFETT:

Well, right now fear is. I mean, you're seeing it everyplace. You saw it at-- in the sales of almost every item at-- at Christmas. There's a lot of fear throughout the country. Even-- even with people whose jobs are fine, and who have money in the bank. But they-- they're worried.

BROKAW:

I've been describing this as the domestic equivalent of war. Is that an overstatement?

BUFFETT:

Well, actually, in September I said-- this is an economic Pearl Harbor. I-- that was the time congress had made it in. It really is an economic Pearl Harbor. It-- the-- the country is facing something it hasn't faced since World War II.

And they're fearful about it. And they don't know quite what to do about it. And the point is-- and-- and it-- and temporarily it looks like we're losing. It has that-- that same aspect. Interestingly enough, we were losing for a while after Pearl Harbor. But the American people never doubted that we'd win. I mean, we had that attitude then. I think, right now, that they're sort of paralyzed.

Read The Complete Transcript...

Is Warren Buffett Insane?

Is Buffett Insane?
November 28, 2008
In the midst of economic chaos, Warren Buffett recently made a bold prediction. He said that now is the time to buy American stocks. (Full Story on the Motley Fool)
Of course, this call seems utterly insane. Banks are failing, the credit markets are deadlocked, unemployment is skyrocketing, and there's likely to be terrible news for months.
On the other hand, this is Warren Buffett, and he's made these sorts of predictions before.
1974: Stagflation
The years 1973 and 1974 were two very bad ones for the market. OPEC had started flexing its muscles, causing oil to quadruple. This resulted in a long recession, with inflation spiking to 12.3% in 1974, while real GDP growth fell by 0.5%. America experienced stagflation -- the ugly combination of a recession and high inflation rates -- and people were terrified. The situation was even worse in the United Kingdom, where the government was bailing out banks after real estate crashed. Over those two years, the S&P 500 plunged by 42%.
It was then, on Nov. 1, 1974, at the height of the pessimism, that Buffett made his first well-publicized bullish market call. He noted that he was well aware that the world was in a mess, but that stocks were simply too cheap. "If you're only worried about corporate profits, panic or depression, these things don't bother me at these prices."
To be totally clear, Buffett made one of the most direct predictions of his entire career: "Now is the time to invest and get rich." Buffett himself was buying shares of The Washington Post (NYSE: WPO) and advertising agency Interpublic (NYSE: IPG).

(Comment from Trendsbridge: The circumstances are very different nowadays and History does not always repeat itself. But America is an Economic Powerhouse and a leading economic force, and there is no doubt they will get the present problems under control. The Bush years turned out to be quite messy and that's a main part of this situation.)