Buffett's No-Brainer Buy

In the Great Crash, October 1929, John D Rockefeller broke a silence of years to announce that he and his son were buying US blue chips, convinced "that fundamental conditions of the country are sound".

The world's richest man and his son took a bath. Possibly John D did not see a gain until the early 1950s, by which time he was long underground.

Buffett ain't infallible either. Berkshire Hathaway's stellar performance until the 1980s has been patchier subsequently. If old Warren wants to pass his last years enjoying being hailed as the saviour of the American economy, that is not necessarily a screaming buy signal for us lesser mortals.

Caveat emptor, and remember that not all bear markets reverse themselves snappily.

Which UK-listed companies enjoy a AAA rating? Is GSK one of these?

supasap, you can buy 'B' shares in Berkshire Hatheway, Warren's investment company for around $4600 on the NYSE, or 'A' shares for $137000 a piece. I believe the B shares have less voting rights but are otherwise identical (but worth 1/30 of an A share obviously). Note that Berkshire does not pay dividends, and profits are instead meant to be reflected in the share price. Part of the reason for the shares being so expensive is to encourage long-term ownership.

If you have the money, go for it. One reason people may not choose to do so is that it is harder to keep up the return rate as the company has grown very large, and there simply aren't big enough investments for it to make at the right price to keep up the momentum. However, the recent turmoil seems to be throwing up a few large opportunities.

If I could get the same deal that Buffett could, I would also be buying in on these terms since I would have great confidence in GE over a 10 to 15 year period.

AAA rated companies in the UK - probably utilities. I'd be Network Rail and one or two others enjoy AAA status. However last time I looked even AAA/AA debt was being priced on a default rate of 15%!