Legendary investors Warren Buffett and George Soros are snapping up shares of companies at prices they perceive to be bargains. From The Hindu Business Line (India) earlier today:

In the midst of people selling their stocks as market values touch the nadir, legendary investors - Warren Buffett and George Soros - seem to be swimming against the tide and shopping for stakes in companies worldwide.

With the economic crisis ravaging global markets, the two billionaires are making investments in firms from America to Australia, which are expected to yield long term benefits.

The Indian publication detailed recent purchases by the two investing legends. From the piece:

The legendary investor [Buffett] had pumped in $5 billion to battered Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs and another $3 billion into diversified conglomerate General Electric.

According to reports, Soros snapped up a five per cent stake in Australian firm Sphere Investments. The company is reportedly looking to develop a multi-billion dollar iron ore mine in Mauritania. Moreover, in October, Soros had acquired over five percent in Australian mining firm Legend International.

The deal is pegged to be worth more than $8 million.

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Yesterday, the Washington Business Journal’s Jeff Clabaugh wrote in the New Mexico Business Weekly about an acquisition by the “Oracle of Omaha.” According to his article:

CORT, an office furniture and corporate relocation services company acquired by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway eight years ago, has acquired Aaron Rents Corporate Furnishings for $72 million.

CORT says the acquisition makes it the only national furniture rental company, with locations in more than 70 metropolitan areas. Aaron Rents operates rent-to-own furniture rental stores. Both companies have locations in Albuquerque.

Think the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway anticipates tough times ahead for American and British consumers? Clabaugh noted:

In January, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK/A) acquired Roomservice Group, a furniture rental company in the U.K.

Sources:

“Buffett, Soros continue buying stake in cos”
The Hindu Business Line (India), November 7, 2008

“CORT acquires Aaron Rents division”
Jeff Clabaugh
New Mexico Business Weekly, November 6, 2008

Reuters’ Karey Wutkowski wrote on October 3:

Billionaire investor George Soros reported on Friday that his fund holds a 5.19-percent passive stake in Australian mining firm Legend International Holdings.

The 11.7 million shares were revealed by Soros Fund Management in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Source:

“Soros fund reports 5.19 pct stake in Legend Intl”
Karey Wutkowski
Reuters, October 3, 2008

Jitendra Kumar Gupta from India’s Business Standard caught up with legendary investor Jim Rogers, who was in Mumbai for the launch of the Birla Sun Life Commodity Equities Fund. From the Standard’s website yesterday:

At the conference and in an interview with Jitendra Kumar Gupta, he shared his outlook on commodities and the world economy. Excerpts:

What is your view on global economy and inflation?
The world economy is in recession and the inflation is going to stay here, it is going to get worse. Some countries lie about it. But, inflation in all countries is going to get worse. The next decade is going to see lot more inflation, which is not good.

In this light, how can one beat inflation and generate higher inflation adjusted returns?
Commodities are the best inflation hedge, better than real estate better than anything else. Nothing can assure you better than commodities, but only if you are good at it. You have to pick the things that go up the most to make more money. Inflation does not cause prices to rise, price rise causes inflation.

Frequently, since the prices of the commodities go up before the inflation numbers, one can stay ahead of inflation. But, if you get it wrong you might do worse. So, investing in those commodities, which are going to go up first or selecting the right commodities, is the key to stay ahead of the inflation and make a lot of money…

Do you think Asian economies are decoupling from the rest of the world?
If you deal with the largest economy you are going to get affected by what is happening in America. If you are in the other sectors in Asia, such as water treatment and agriculture you have decoupled. You do not care what is happening in America.

But, if you sell to Wal-Mart, which is the largest retailer in America, you are going to suffer badly. So, some will decouple and some may not. Since India is such a closed economy, which is a negative as far as I am concerned, in this particular short term, India will suffer less probably than other countries which are more integrated with the world economy.

What is your view on the dollar?
Fundamentally, dollar is a terribly flawed currency. I am pessimistic about the future of the dollar; I expect it to continue to deteriorate over the next two or three decades.

The dollar is rallying at the movement because there are so many pessimists including me. But, I hope to use that rally some time in next year to get better of rest of my dollars. I do not want to own any US dollar. Also, I would not urge you to buy US dollar. Dollar is going to loose its status as world reserve currency.

Some of the OPEC countries have already started and no longer take dollar, like Venezuela no longer accepts dollar. Other countries, like Gulf, are already looking and may be taking a package of basket of currencies instead of dollar. I am not the only one who knows the dollar is in trouble. Anybody who watches the TV knows that the dollar is in trouble.

What is you assessment of the crude oil prices in the short and longer term?
I do not have idea as to where the oil prices are headed in the short to medium term. I do know over the course of the bull market, which perhaps has another 10 years to go, the crude oil price will be much higher.

Your bets in the commodity space?
Agriculture is one thing I will be looking for the next decade or so. Within commodities, I would not say these are the best, but may be sugar, coffee and cotton. I am also starting to look at some of the base metals they are down a lot; starting to look at some of these like silver, copper, zinc and gold.

Also, if you want to invest in Asia, commodities are the best way. Because, no matter what happens, the commodities have to be better, Asia has three billion people and is now involved in the world economy. Besides, in commodities you do not have to worry about corporate governance, central banks, unions, politicians or anything.

With gold prices correcting, do you still advocate buying gold?
I am trying and want to buy some gold. However, whether this is the low in the gold, I have no idea, but if gold goes lower, I will add some more. Gold is something I do not plan to sell. Gold is something I will gift to my children.

How will alternative fuels play?
Many politicians around the world are advocating bio fuel now. It is going to happen whether it is good or bad. There is going to be much more demand for the bio fuel going forward. This is also a reason that I am optimistic about the outlook of agriculture.

Your views on the water potential in Asia?
India and China have huge water problems. Water could be the next big investment. And, the best way is to invest in water companies which clean it, transport or pump it. Find the water companies that solve the water problem and you could be the richest person in India.

Source:

“’The US dollar is in trouble’”
Jitendra Kumar Gupta
Business Standard (India), September 15, 2008

Legendary emerging markets investor Mark Mobius, who oversees about $40 billion in emerging-market equities as executive chairman of Templeton Asset Management Ltd. in Singapore, spoke to Bloomberg yesterday from Ho Chi Minh City. From the interview:

BLOOMBERG: Why the slide in emerging markets? Is it overdone?
MOBIUS: I think it is. The market has come down a lot. In fact, in China, in the Asia market, it’s come down far more than that. So, we’ve seen a very, very big correction in many places around the world in emerging markets. And it seems to be overdone, but not necessarily over, because, you know, the sentiment is bad globally so that there’s a tendency for people to sell out, and stay out, until they see an about-face in the market.

Some notable excerpts from the interview included:

Commodities

I think that the demand for these commodities is going to continue at a pretty high level. Of course, much higher than there has been in the past, simply because of the demands from China, India, and these other countries that are growing at the paces I just mentioned. So I think it’s more of a correction, rather than a significant secular downturn in these markets and the commodity markets.

U.S. Dollar

BLOOMBERG: Would you not be particularly bullish on the dollar as well?
MOBIUS: No, I wouldn’t, given the propensity of the U.S. government to spend the way they’re spending and to have new ventures against Russia in Eastern Europe, and so forth and so on. I think, unless these policies change in a new administration, I don’t see how the U.S. dollar can keep at a strong level.

Russia

We’ve been, and have been increasingly comfortable, with our investments in Russia. We’ve made an awful lot of money in Russia, both on the private equity side as well as the public side. And, things are getting better in Russia. I think the situation that we’re seeing with Georgia is an anomaly… I think that this will blow over and Russia will continue to be a very important place for us to be putting our money.

Brazil

Brazil, of course, is at the top of the list in terms of weighting in our funds at this time… But generally speaking, the banks are doing very well, very profitable. Petrobras, Vale do Rio Doce, extremely profitable companies.

India

The Indian market, finally for us value investors, has become more interesting, because of the downturn you just mentioned. So some of these companies are beginning to look quite attractive— some of the pharma companies, some of the software companies, and even some of the commodity companies, because you know India, has iron ore and produces a lot of steel. So, we’re looking at that more carefully, and we think they are good opportunities at this stage of the game. We were quite underweight in India for a long time because of the valuations.

Vietnam

The economy is thriving, and things are moving ahead… and we’re pretty optimistic about the longer-term future of the country.

You can listen to the 14 minute 26 second interview here.

Source:

Mark Mobius Interview
Bloomberg, August 20, 2008

According to the mining investment news site Mineweb, billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros was significantly active in the mining sector last quarter. Mineweb’s Dorothy Kosich wrote earlier today:

Über investor George Soros stocked up on potash mining shares during the second quarter, increased his Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold holdings by more than 1,600%, invested in the world’s largest uranium miner, Cameco, and dumped his holdings in Apex Silver, CVRD and Southern Copper.

Documents filed with the SEC revealed that among the gold companies in which Soros Fund Management maintained its holdings during the second quarter were AngloGold Ashanti, Barrick, and Newmont.

Soros Fund increased its holdings in Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. by 2568%… The fund also enhanced its Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold holdings by 1608%…

Among the fund’s new purchases was Canadian uranium miner Cameco… as well as CONSOL Energy Inc., the largest U.S. producer of high-Btu bituminous coal… The fund also initiated holdings in Intrepid Potash, the largest U.S. potash producer…

The Soros Fund reduced to its holdings in IAMGOLD Corp. by 23.3%… Soros reduced to his holdings in Alpha Natural Resources Inc., a Central Appalachian coal producer, by 46.95%…

Meanwhile, the fund sold out its holdings in the world’s largest iron miner, Brazil’s Vale (previously CVRD), as well as its holdings in U.S. silver producer Apex Silver Mines, and also in Southern Copper Corp.

Source:

“Soros increases potash and FCX holdings, drops Apex Silver, CVRD, Southern Copper”
Dorothy Kosich
Mineweb, August 19, 2008

Yesterday afternoon, Bloomberg reported that commodities finished their best first half in 35 years, as the Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 raw materials rose 29% through June 30. However, well-known contrarian investor Marc Faber told the financial news outlet that demand for industrial commodities, including oil, will fall, along with prices. Bloomberg’s Monica Bertran and Millie Munshi wrote:

“The industrial-commodity complex is vulnerable because demand will slow down,” said Faber, publisher of investment newsletter the Gloom, Boom and Doom Report. “The economy is weakening, corporate profits will disappoint, valuations are not particularly attractive, and the financial sector that serves to channel savings into investment is in disarray.”

Demand for commodities will fall after raw materials including oil, corn, copper and gold touched record highs in the first half, Faber said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. The global economic slowdown will last a “very long time,” he said.

Photo by scol22, stock.xchng

Discussing the $400 billion in write-downs at banks and securities firms worldwide, the Swiss-born investor said:

“The financial crisis has been the appetizer. We still need the main dish.”

Source:

“Commodity Demand to Drop as Growth Slows, Faber Says (Update1)”
Monica Bertran, Millie Munshi
Bloomberg, July 1, 2008

Earlier today, emerging markets veteran Mark Mobius told UK-based IFAonline that food price rises should be absorbed into the market in emerging regions as income per capita is rapidly increasing. IFAonline also noted the following strategies of Mobius, who heads the Templeton Emerging Markets investment trust:

• His largest holding by region is Brazil at 27%, then China at 13%, South Korea 11% and Russia 11%.
• He said Brazil has performed very well and its recent investment grade rating has created further interest. Energy is one theme he is playing in Brazil and in other regions with oil and gas around 22% of the portfolio. Holdings include Petroleo Brasileiro, PetroChina, and Gazprom.
• Mobius has around 20% in banks in the region which he says have not been exposed to the subprime crisis.
• Believes that the impact of the United States as a factor in world trade is not as important as in the past.
• Does not see an end to the booming demand for resources such as energy and minerals due to rising per capita income in emerging regions.
• Africa is a “market to watch” because of its natural resources. China and Russia have already taken notice.

The Templeton Emerging Markets investment trust is up 26.5% over the past year.

Source:

“Mobius says emerging markets can weather food price hikes”
IFAonline (UK), May 14, 2008

Bloomberg’s Netty Ismail reported this morning that private-equity investors are now targeting Cambodia in Southeast Asia. Ismail wrote:

Leopard Capital and Cambodia Investment & Development Fund are among those planning to put more than $450 million in the second-poorest of 10 Southeast Asian nations. Cambodia Investment is getting advice from Jim Rogers, who predicted the start of the commodities boom in 1999, and Marc Faber, who forecast Asian assets would decline before the regional financial crisis in 1997.

Faber is also a director at Leopard Capital.

Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Photo by Roi Sabarov, stock.xchng

According to the Bloomberg reporter, Prime Minister Hun Sen is relying on oil and mineral resources to attract foreign investment and reduce Cambodia’s dependence on clothing exports and tourism for growth as he prepares for a July election. Rogers noted:

Cambodia does have a lot of natural resources, it does have an ambitious population, and it does have some assets. Most countries that come out of something like they have are inclined to be pretty safe for a while because they’re trying to get money in.

Source:

“Cambodia Draws Interest of Jim Rogers, Private Equity (Update1)”
Netty Ismail
Bloomberg, May 14, 2008