I have never been a huge fan of the monthly job report, so I am glad to see other important employment indicators paint a more flattering picture of the employment landscape than Friday's report of 10.2% unemployment. These include the Challenger Gray and Christmas Layoffs Report, the employment component of the ISM purchasing managers report for manufacturers, and the ADP Report. Shockingly, the market seems to agree and is reacting far more favorably than expected to Friday's numbers.

News from the construction, real estate, manufacturing, and retailing sectors is better than expected. In the corporate world, merger mania continues: Black & Decker BDK and Stanley Works SWK agreed to merge, as did Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B and Burlington Northern BNI. Warren Buffett proclaimed Berkshire purchase to be "an all-in bet" on the U.S. economy. Given the wide variety of goods shipped via rail, I think Buffett's assessment is correct.   More 

In an op-ed piece in The New York Times yesterday. Warren Buffett said, among other things, that an economic recovery appeared to be under way. He hasn't been willing to say that for a while, and I think it's noteworthy. One reason I think it's noteworthy has to do with where Buffett sits. He sits at the helm of Berkshire Hathaway, with a slew of operating subsidiaries in economically sensitive industries.    More 

After penning his widely cited op-ed piece "Buy American. I Am." in The New York Times on Oct. 17, Warren Buffett took a fair amount of grief when the S&P 500 continued to shrivel into early 2009.  By March 6, the S&P 500 had fallen 28% from the date of that article. But with the rally since March, we are now back above the level at which Buffett wrote the article.   More 

When Charlie Munger talks, I listen. I think Warren Buffet's partner is one of the brightest minds we have. He's a straight shooter who distills complex issues down to easily digestible components and always has his investor's best interests at heart. Like Buffett, he doesn't hesitate to point out what he thinks are lapses in moral judgment. He recently opened up in this Q&A with the Stanford Lawyer, and it's a must-read for fans and foes a like. He unloads on regulators, the accounting industry, options exchanges, and derivatives, among other things. Munger always makes me think.   More 

I just returned from visiting Memphis, where I had due-diligence meetings at Southeastern Asset Management, advisor to the Longleaf funds. The trip confirmed my confidence in the shop's process and commitment to shareholders. They got crushed in 2008--I know because I'm a shareholder--but are rebounding strongly so far in 2009.   More