Warren Buffett

Legg Mason Inc. has entered into an agreement to buy the investment company run by Robert G. Hagstrom Jr., the author of a best-selling book about billionaire investor Warren Buffett, according to a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.The Baltimore-based brokerage and money management firm plans to buy Focus Capital Advisory LP for an undisclosed price.Edward A. Taber III, a senior executive vice president at Legg, declined to discuss the transaction. "We might possibly be in the position over the next day or two to say something, possibly," Taber said.

In a sweeping plan aimed at increasing the value of its stock, US Airways Group Inc. said yesterday that it will repurchase up to $500 million in common stock, retire a sizable amount of debt and redeem the last of its outstanding preferred shares."

ARE YOU getting fewer dividend increases than last year? "Higher payouts to stockholders showed a year-to-year decline in October, the fourth consecutive drop," says S&P Outlook. "Dividend policies are stingier because heated competition squeezes profit margins. Increases are the fewest since 1995."Here's advice from the 1999 Stock Trader's Almanac, justreceived: "In this game, the market has to keep pitching but you don't have to swing. Keep the bat on your shoulder until you get a fat pitch."

WHEN THE Dow Jones industrial average had sunk 693 points, or 9.7 percent, from its all-time high before Monday's and yesterday's brisk rallies, many worried investors asked thoughtful questions. The queries are still timely this morning:Question: How low can this market go?There's no limit. My experience, dating back to the Depression, convinces me Wall Street goes to extremes. When the Dow Jones average closed 1991 at around 3,000, stocks appeared undervalued. When the Dow moved above 7,000 several months ago, I said the market seemed overpriced and could drop 10 percent, which it did. Many people said, "You're an old fuddy-duddy.

Before Julius Westheimer went to the hospital for surgery -- from which he is recovering -- he left behind advice from some of his favorite columns:IF YOU PUT $25 a week into stocks that gain 10 percent a year -- that's just under the 10.2 percent average annual return for stocks over the past 75 years -- you will have $103,000 in 22 years, before taxes.The magic of compounding: If from age 20 to 65 you save $50 a month and get an annual 8 percent return, at age 65 you can take out $1,658 every month until age 100.Start early.

In an article in Sunday's editions of The Sun, Geico Corp.'s policy on what type of drivers it insures was reported incorrectly. In fact, Geico insures preferred risk drivers as well as standard and non-standard drivers.The Sun regrets the error.For just four almost throwaway sentences, they produced a remarkable worldwide glare of publicity.But the paragraph was written by the world's richest man, Warren Buffett, about Louis A. Simpson, co-president of Geico Corp. of Chevy Chase.A simple nugget of praise convinced much of the financial world that the 65-year-old chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Corp.

Setting its fourth record-closing high in the past five sessions, the Dow Jones industrial average climbed 10.03 points yesterday and finished at 4,083.68.Philip Morris, a Dow Jones industrial stock, gained $2.875 a share to close at $66, benefiting from a favorable court decision regarding the tobacco industry. Bonds and utilities ended slightly lower.YOUR MONEY: Regarding investments, Fortune, April 3, says, "Investors in the 31 percent tax bracket earn more after taxes from AAA intermediate or long municipal bonds than from comparable Treasury bonds."

THE GOOD news for America is that Forbes magazine has just come out with its list of the 10 richest men in the world -- and the United States has produced Nos. 1 and 2. Bill Gates, who owns Microsoft, is worth $12.9 billion, and Warren Buffett, the Omaha, Nebraska, investor, is listed second with a fortune of $10.7 billion.I feel so sorry for Warren Buffett.How would anybody react to coming in second in the "richest men" list and have the whole world snickering? I can't call myself a close friend of Warren Buffett, although I do wear Hathaway shirts, drink Coca-Cola and eat Mrs. See's chocolates -- all products in which Warren Buffett has large investments.

Encouraged by more reports of a cooling economy with possibly lower interest rates -- making stocks comparatively more appealing than bonds -- investors drove three popular stock averages to new highs yesterday.The Dow Jones industrial average soared 86.46 points, to close at a record 4,465.14, now 16.4 percent above its Jan. 1 level of 3,834.44.The S&P 500 and the NYSE composite also reached record highs.WHAT TO DO NOW: "Successful investing is anticipating the successful anticipations of others."

Adding to last week's five-day record-setting winning streak, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 6.91 points yesterday and closed at 4,437.47. In the last four and a half months the Dow index gained 603 points, and now stands 15.7 percent above its New Year's Day level of 3,834.44.WHAT TO DO NOW: "Stay put. For the past 10 years, a buy-and-hold policy on the S&P 500 returned 14.4 percent per year, but if you missed the best 12 months, you'd have earned only 3.8 percent in that period.

The young business associates were sitting around a conference table last week, telling me about the philosophy and strategy of someone they greatly admire in their field, an investor who doesn't gamble wildly and knows exactly what he's buying. "Warren Buffett takes a company that's doing well," Vir Mirchandani said, "and makes it stronger." "His principle is he invests in companies where he knows what they're doing," Nikhil Sinha added. Just then, Maddy Bencivenga popped into the room and announced: "Warren Buffett just bought Constellation Energy."

The financier announced that he intended to give the bulk of his $44 billion personal fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. "A very rich person should leave his kids enough to do anything, but not enough to do nothing." Warren Buffett

OMAHA, Neb. - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said yesterday that the Securities and Exchange Commission requested information on insurance policies that may help companies smooth earnings. Berkshire's reinsurance unit, General Re Corp., received the request and will cooperate, the company said. The regulator is scrutinizing whether the policies, often sold to other insurers as reinsurance, disguise losses and distort earnings. The SEC's request signals that Berkshire may also get a subpoena from New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who has broadened his investigation of the insurance industry beyond bid-rigging and kickbacks since starting the probe this year.

I've been receiving a lot of e-mail lately from folks asking, "Is now a good time to get back into the market?" Because a lot of these individuals appear to be novice investors (one asked me whether 100 shares was "too much" of a stock), I thought I'd compile a list of a dozen sins that should be avoided by anyone investing in stocks. Although some of these may sound pretty basic, avoiding mistakes is half the battle when it comes to successful stock investing. You'll be amazed at how much your investment performance will improve if you follow the financial version of the Hippocratic oath: "First, do no harm."

IF YOUR plans for an early and comfortable retirement were dashed - and your 401(k) turned into a 201(k) - you may be in a panic," says Forbes. "But there are things that 50- and 60-ish folks can do to salvage their futures."

NOTES and quotes about your money: "My studies (and Warren Buffett's) show that the market will deliver a total return of only 6-7 percent a year (if we're lucky) for the next 10-15 years, compared with 16 percent in the last decade." (Bill Staton, chartered financial analyst) "The market's tumble is making some people nervous about tying part of their Social Security to Wall Street. In a Washington Post-ABC poll, 53 percent supported the idea, down from 64 percent a year ago." (Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine)

ARE YOU getting fewer dividend increases than last year? "Higher payouts to stockholders showed a year-to-year decline in October, the fourth consecutive drop," says S&P Outlook. "Dividend policies are stingier because heated competition squeezes profit margins. Increases are the fewest since 1995."Here's advice from the 1999 Stock Trader's Almanac, justreceived: "In this game, the market has to keep pitching but you don't have to swing. Keep the bat on your shoulder until you get a fat pitch."

Legg Mason Inc. has entered into an agreement to buy the investment company run by Robert G. Hagstrom Jr., the author of a best-selling book about billionaire investor Warren Buffett, according to a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.The Baltimore-based brokerage and money management firm plans to buy Focus Capital Advisory LP for an undisclosed price.Edward A. Taber III, a senior executive vice president at Legg, declined to discuss the transaction. "We might possibly be in the position over the next day or two to say something, possibly," Taber said.

In a sweeping plan aimed at increasing the value of its stock, US Airways Group Inc. said yesterday that it will repurchase up to $500 million in common stock, retire a sizable amount of debt and redeem the last of its outstanding preferred shares."

Before Julius Westheimer went to the hospital for surgery -- from which he is recovering -- he left behind advice from some of his favorite columns:IF YOU PUT $25 a week into stocks that gain 10 percent a year -- that's just under the 10.2 percent average annual return for stocks over the past 75 years -- you will have $103,000 in 22 years, before taxes.The magic of compounding: If from age 20 to 65 you save $50 a month and get an annual 8 percent return, at age 65 you can take out $1,658 every month until age 100.Start early.