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Brutal Market Doesn't Spare Buffett

Berkshire Hathaway takes biggest dive in decades

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 20, 2008 3:53 AM CST

(Newser) – The "Oracle of Omaha" is proving even he's not immune from market blows, reports Bloomberg. Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway took a 12% nosedive yesterday, its biggest one-day fall since 1987's Black Monday. The conglomerate is down 41% for the year and has been dropping steadily for eight days after announcing a 77% drop in third-quarter profits.

The plummeting share price doesn't indicate a fundamental problem with Berkshire, but reflects investors' deep concerns about the economy, say analysts. Berkshire holds huge stakes in troubled financial giants like American Express, whose holdings lost $9 billion in value in October alone. The cost of insuring against the company defaulting on its debts has tripled since September.

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Billionaire investor Warren Buffett frowns during a news conference in Madrid earlier this year. (AP Photo/Paul White )

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett speaks during a news conference in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik )

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There's nothing fundamentally wrong with Berkshire. What's really happening is people are wondering if there's something fundamentally wrong with the economy.
- YCMNet Advisers head Michael Yoshikami

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Brutal Market Doesn't Spare Buffett