Buffett Avoids Bear Stearns, Countrywide Financial

[Bloomberg]

Buffett Avoids Bear Stearns, Countrywide Financial (Update3)

By Josh P. Hamilton

Oct. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Warren Buffett said his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. won't buy a stake in Bear Stearns Cos. and that he ``never came close'' to acquiring shares of mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp., which fell 61 percent this year.

Buffett also said Berkshire sold all its stock in PetroChina Co., a company that has been the target of a divestment campaign by human rights groups.

Buffett denied a New York Times report published last month that said he might buy as much as 20 percent of New York-based Bear Stearns, the fifth-largest U.S. securities firm, during an interview on News Corp.'s Fox Business Network.

``That was an incorrect story,'' he said. ``We were not taking a stake. That one had no basis.''

Shares of Bear Stearns fell as much as 37 percent this year after the collapse of the subprime mortgage market pushed two of its hedge funds into bankruptcy and eroded fixed-income revenue. The stock remains the worst performer this year among the five biggest U.S. investment banks, even after rallying 7.7 percent on Sept. 26 when the New York Times story was published.

Buffett, 77, over four decades transformed Omaha, Nebraska- based Berkshire from a failing textile maker into a $200 billion investment and holding company with businesses ranging from ice cream to insurance and corporate jet leasing. His investment decisions are followed worldwide.

Didn't Buy Hovnanian
...
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ad0OvQgcATwI