Why is Warren Buffett Trying to Block Regulation Reform?
Posted Apr 28, 2010 11:26am EDT by Henry Blodget
A mini-scandal broke out in recent days when the world learned that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has been lobbying to block one aspect of proposed financial reform -- the rules pertaining to existing derivative contracts.
The original proposed reform would require companies to put up collateral not only for derivatives they buy in the future, but for existing contracts they already own. This would force a company like Berkshire Hathaway to put billions of dollars into escrow to cover potential losses on a big stock-market derivative that Berkshire bought a few years ago. For obvious reasons, Berkshire would prefer not to tie up its cash that way.
There's certainly a good argument to be made that rules should not be changed retroactively. The fact that it was Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson who proposed the exemption to the reform, however, startled people. Sen. Nelson owns an estimated $6 million of stock in Berkshire, and having hometown (and world) hero Warren Buffett in his camp is presumably helpful in election campaigns. The Wall Street Journal reports Berkshire is Nelson's largest campaign contributor.
http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticke...en-Buffett-Trying-to-Block-Regulation-Reform?
Posted Apr 28, 2010 11:26am EDT by Henry Blodget
A mini-scandal broke out in recent days when the world learned that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has been lobbying to block one aspect of proposed financial reform -- the rules pertaining to existing derivative contracts.
The original proposed reform would require companies to put up collateral not only for derivatives they buy in the future, but for existing contracts they already own. This would force a company like Berkshire Hathaway to put billions of dollars into escrow to cover potential losses on a big stock-market derivative that Berkshire bought a few years ago. For obvious reasons, Berkshire would prefer not to tie up its cash that way.
There's certainly a good argument to be made that rules should not be changed retroactively. The fact that it was Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson who proposed the exemption to the reform, however, startled people. Sen. Nelson owns an estimated $6 million of stock in Berkshire, and having hometown (and world) hero Warren Buffett in his camp is presumably helpful in election campaigns. The Wall Street Journal reports Berkshire is Nelson's largest campaign contributor.
http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticke...en-Buffett-Trying-to-Block-Regulation-Reform?
