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Warren Buffett vs. S&P?

by Kai Ryssdal
Monday, August 8, 2011 - 18:45

This final note today, in which S&P beats up on Warren Buffet. The billionaire went on CNBC this morning, said he wasn't worried at all about the debt downgrade and said, in fact, that the downgrade changed his opinion of S&P -- not his opinion of U.S. Treasuries.

Funnily enough, couple of hours later, S&P put Buffett's company Berkshire Hathaway on notice for a possible downgrade.

Hmmm.

Also, we should note here: Berkshire Hathaway's the single biggest shareholder in S&P's competitor, Moody's.

About the author

Kai Ryssdal is the host and senior editor of Marketplace, public radio’s program on business and the economy. Follow Kai on Twitter @kairyssdal.
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John's picture
John - Aug 9, 2011

Warren Buffet versus S&P. No contest Buffet wins every time!

Joni's picture
Joni - Aug 8, 2011

Ironically, S&P downgrades the institution that baled out all the banks they should have downgraded.

anon's picture
anon - Aug 8, 2011

Both S&P and Buffet were wrong about the housing crash.

Daniel's picture
Daniel - Aug 8, 2011

World downgrades S&P credit rating to 'junk' status after the company rated mortgage backed securities and credit default swaps as AAA investments.

Karen's picture
Karen - Aug 9, 2011

I don't own any Berkshire Hathaway stock, but wish I did. I've been reading Warren Buffett's annual letter for the last 10 years. I trust him, but after Enron, credit default swap ratings, & Lehmen Bros. - who does Standard & Poors think they are? Their poor research and bad ratings contributed to the crash 3 years ago and now their downgrade of the US is exacerbating it. So who will I listen to and trust the opinions of more - someone who has grown a business into one of the most successful in the world or an organization that has a track record of poor judgment?

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