Buffett's Berkshire falls most in 23 years!
NEW YORK - November 19, 2008 -
Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. fell the most in at least 23 years,
dropping for the eighth straight day since reporting a 77 percent decline in
third- quarter profit.
The stock plunged $11,550, or 12 percent, to $84,000 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading and has slipped 41 percent this year, compared with the 45 percent drop in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. Berkshire, based in Omaha, Nebraska, rose in 17 of the past 20 years.
“There's nothing fundamentally wrong with Berkshire, what's really happening is people are wondering if there's something fundamentally wrong with the economy, and Berkshire is in some ways a bit of a proxy for that,” said Michael Yoshikami, president of YCMNet Advisors in Walnut Creek, California, which manages $850 million including Berkshire shares.
Berkshire has posted four straight profit declines, the worst streak in at least 13 years, on falling returns at insurance businesses and investment losses. Buffett, ranked by Forbes magazine as the richest American, has committed at least $28 billion this year to acquire companies, finance buyouts and purchase securities as prices fell and competitors were hobbled by limited access to credit.
