By now the “Buffett deal” has become familiar: an investment by Berkshire Hathaway that includes high-yield preferred stock and very little risk. Berkshire’s purchase last week of Heinz fits the classic pattern. Before yawning, “he’s pulled off another one”, let us pause to consider some new shading that Heinz brings to the portrait of Warren Buffett as dealmaker and capitalist. Also worth noting are subtle signals that suggest where the US economy is heading. Mr Buffett has a history of being right about such things, so let us pay attention.
到目前為止，“巴菲特交易”已經為人熟知，這是指由伯克希爾哈撒韋公司(Berkshire Hathaway)對高收益優先股所進行的風險極低的投資。伯克希爾上周對亨氏食品公司(Heinz)的收購就符合這一經典模式。我們在驚呼“他又做成一筆交易”之前先停下來想一想，亨氏為沃倫?巴菲特(Warren Buffett)作為交易撮合者和資本家的形象帶來了哪些新的變化。另一個值得注意之處是，該交易對美國經濟走勢的微妙暗示。歷史上巴菲特在這方面總是正確的，因此應該引起我們的重視。