WALL STREET JOURNAL: …In terms of simple profitability, an average investor could have done just as well investing in the stock market if they bought during the panic period,” Mr. Buffett said in an interview Saturday. He was referring to a monthslong stretch beginning in the fall of 2008 when the stocks of some of his favorite companies, including Wells Fargo WFC -1.67% & Co. and American Express Co., AXP -1.84% fell to historic lows. “You make your best buys when people are overwhelmingly fearful.”
But few investors, if any, capitalized on the crisis as expertly.
By comparison, the U.S. government invested about $420 billion through its Troubled Asset Relief Program. The government also demanded beneficial terms and collected sizable dividend payments for a return of about $50 billion, or 12%, thus far, according to the U.S. Treasury’s website… (more)
EDITOR: During the depth of the 2008 financial crisis, we recall Buffet telling Charlie Rose that he would be glad to invest in mortgages held by troubled banks along with the government if they were priced at market value. He made no secret of his intention to invest at the time and was encouraging others to do the same.
