From
Bloomberg:
Buffett, the world's second richest-man... has been betting against the dollar since 2002 on concern that widening U.S. trade and budget deficits will erode its value.
Berkshire made $1.63 billion on his forward contracts in the fourth quarter when the dollar slumped. The contracts are agreements to purchase foreign currencies on a future date at the current price.
Berkshire kept slightly more than $21 billion in foreign currency forward contracts through the first quarter as the dollar rose 4 percent against a basket of six currencies. Buffett said he would buy more contracts if it weren't for the skepticism of Vice Chairman Charles Munger.
Buffett, admired around the world for his investing prowess, also said Berkshire maintained a bet against the U.S. dollar of more than $21 billion even after it cost the company about $310 million in the first quarter.
Correct me if I'm wrong. Basically if you looked over Buffett's shoulder onto his forex trading platform you'd see $21 billion in his Balance indicator, with
-$310,000,000 in his Unrealized Profit/Loss indicator.
Warren's in a drawdown.
That's "market reality," guys.
Well, well, well, the great Warren Buffett's been sucked in chasing the glittering Coinz. Keep comin', Mr. B,
I'm waiting for you.
Whether or not the phrasology used "Berkshire made $1.63 billion on his forward contracts in the fourth quarter" means he closed his trades and actually booked the profits, or if he was just in the black $1.6 billion for a time before he was sucked under is an unknown, at least from that article.
If Adrian12 gets his(her?) 1.2600 number hit, Buffett's going to be in deep
blank. Maybe to the tune of over $1,000,000,000 in the red.
Warren, if you're reading, this is what your Unrealized P/L indicator will look like:
-$1,000,000,000
You'll be heartily welcomed into the ranks of Baffoons who trade "reality" instead of trading
market reality. Into the ranks of those who should have stayed out of the forex.
The market, and guys like me, through trading will eat you
and your measly $21 billion: In the forex your de-financed carcass may just get tossed into the trash like a candy wrapper where it belongs.
These are dangerous waters, Warren. This is not the stock market, this is the world.
It doesn't always go the way you think it should.
The forex is a nasty bitch who has a bitter habit of chomping guys down who don't know how to get her to purr. She has long claws and even deeper teeth. And they're all sharp. Designed to neatly part a fool from his money.
You should cut your losses,
boy, and get on back to the stock market. Better than being served up as Forex Stew.
At the 1.2600 level, if the market decides the euro is worth beans, the other economies falter more, the USD interest rate looks better and better,
concerns and worries over USD instruments of investments in general greatly subside, and if the market decides a "trend" has set-in positive dollar-wise, USD gains may extend.
IF THAT HAPPENS... and we return to the 1.2100s even dropping into the 1.1700s... perhaps the market
may just go a little nuts like it did the last quarter of 2004, only in the
opposite direction pushing EUR/USD briefly into the 1.1300s.
If Warren and Bill are still short the USD with their mighty fortunes when speculation of the Chinese yuan floating kicks in hard, and a bad currency storm hits, if they have not pared their losses, both of them may be filing for bankruptcy as the EUR/USD
zooms 10 cents down past 1.0000 in a turn-around shocking the globe.
Hint: Sweet currency nightmares are made of such shocks.
The forex is not a safe place.
The article indicates that Buffett (and we can presume Mr. Bill, the software mogul) is short the USD against "a basket of currencies."
Well, I don't know about his "basket of currencies" but I am short the USD against the Australian dollar, the euro, Swiss franc, the British pound, the Canadian dollar, the New Zealand dollar and the Japanese yen.
Seven currencies.
A continued rally in the USD won't hurt me though because my system is structured to earn money in drawdowns. I have other trade directions in over 15 major cross rates that I am constantly opening and closing trades in and booking profits.
Using a series of money management techniques I'm able to keep myself out of trouble should the USD continue strengthening and actually
make money due to my USD long positions I have in a number of pairs.
This is because I know what I'm doing in the forex. Can Warren and Bill say the same thing?
If they can't, they may be sharing their money with guys like Adrian and me.
You know what they,
you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket.
LMAO,
Sam