Buffett repeats call to buy at Dow 9,000

Don't get me wrong, Warren Buffet is admired around here quite a bit - more so than just about any other billionaire investor - but, going on CNBC this morning and being portrayed as a raging bull probably didn't do him any good in the eyes of those who are a bit more skeptical of the current market rally than is the CNBC staff.

His appearance today comes nine months after his memorable op-ed piece in the NY Times urging investors to buy shares. Coincidentally, the Dow was at about 9,000 back then too.
It's kind of hard to reconcile the "buy when there's blood in the streets" mantra that sounded so good last fall (even though the results weren't so hot) with a similar recommendation today, given the bubbly nature of stock markets around the world where, after the early-July bounce, investors appear to be loaded with optimism once again.

From CNBC this morning:

Warren Buffett tells CNBC that the economy still isn't showing any signs of life but that doesn't mean investors should stay away from stocks for the long-term.

In a live interview on Squawk Box this morning, Buffett says "business is still flat." But he stresses that doesn't mean he's negative on stocks, predicting the market will revive before the economy does.

"The market is very, very likely to turn up before business. But I don't try and time stocks. I try to price stocks."

He repeats his advice from his "Buy American" op-ed in The New York Times last fall: don't wait to buy stocks until the economy improves. By then, he says, you will have missed the biggest stock gains.

Even with the Dow hitting highs for the year around 9000, Buffett repeats his belief that stocks will outperform cash investments, such as Treasury notes, over the long-term. "I would much rather own equities at 9000 on the Dow than have a long investment in government bonds or a continuously rolling investment in short-term money."

From last year's editorial:

THE financial world is a mess, both in the United States and abroad. Its problems, moreover, have been leaking into the general economy, and the leaks are now turning into a gusher. In the near term, unemployment will rise, business activity will falter and headlines will continue to be scary.

So ... I’ve been buying American stocks. This is my personal account I’m talking about, in which I previously owned nothing but United States government bonds. (This description leaves aside my Berkshire Hathaway holdings, which are all committed to philanthropy.) If prices keep looking attractive, my non-Berkshire net worth will soon be 100 percent in United States equities.

At least he's done a heck of a lot better with his Goldman Sachs shares than most retail investors have done with their mutual funds since last fall.