Billionaires Dumping Stocks

[bacpacker]

I ran across this article today. Nothing really surprising, but good information to be aware of as well. Here is a part of the article.



Billionaires Dumping Stocks, Economist Knows Why

Wednesday, 06 Feb 2013 01:59 PM

By Newsmax Wires

Despite the 6.5% stock market rally over the last three months, a handful of billionaires are quietly dumping their American stocks . . . and fast.

Warren Buffett, who has been a cheerleader for U.S. stocks for quite some time, is dumping shares at an alarming rate. He recently complained of “disappointing performance” in dyed-in-the-wool American companies like Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, and Kraft Foods.

In the latest filing for Buffett’s holding company Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett has been drastically reducing his exposure to stocks that depend on consumer purchasing habits. Berkshire sold roughly 19 million shares of Johnson & Johnson, and reduced his overall stake in “consumer product stocks” by 21%. Berkshire Hathaway also sold its entire stake in California-based computer parts supplier Intel.

With 70% of the U.S. economy dependent on consumer spending, Buffett’s apparent lack of faith in these companies’ future prospects is worrisome.

Unfortunately Buffett isn’t alone.

Fellow billionaire John Paulson, who made a fortune betting on the subprime mortgage meltdown, is clearing out of U.S. stocks too. During the second quarter of the year, Paulson’s hedge fund, Paulson & Co., dumped 14 million shares of JPMorgan Chase. The fund also dumped its entire position in discount retailer Family Dollar and consumer-goods maker Sara Lee.

Finally, billionaire George Soros recently sold nearly all of his bank stocks, including shares of JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs. Between the three banks, Soros sold more than a million shares.

So why are these billionaires dumping their shares of U.S. companies?

After all, the stock market is still in the midst of its historic rally. Real estate prices have finally leveled off, and for the first time in five years are actually rising in many locations. And the unemployment rate seems to have stabilized.

It’s very likely that these professional investors are aware of specific research that points toward a massive market correction, as much as 90%.

One such person publishing this research is Robert Wiedemer, an esteemed economist and author of the New York Times best-selling book Aftershock.



Here is a link to the full article.

http://www.moneynews.com/MKTNews/bil...source=taboola

[AlphaTea]

I noticed this last week,
Good read.
A lot of good stuff in the video too.
The video is mostly a 40 minute infomercial about his (free?) book.

[mitunnelrat]

I don't follow the market, has it come up recently? That would explain it as much as anything. Buy low, sell high as a general rule...

[bacpacker]

I don't track stuff in the market closely. But last week I saw some stuff about Buffet, I didn't catch any of this in it but I didn't watch it all. Buffet, and Soros, has been pulling out of the market pretty heavily since before the election. Apparently speeding up things at this point.

[Grumpy Old Man]

And this is surprising how? These yahoos are still manipulating the market!

[ak474u]

The stock market these days, is so shaky it is a good way to go from being a millionaire to a thousandaire.

[bacpacker]

Nothing new Grumpy, been going on since the market was started would be my guess. This is nothing more than the latest episode.