Buffett/Swiss Re: Re investment

Warren Buffett didn’t invest in the troubled financial institutions – from Citigroup to UBS – that recently passed the hat in search of new capital. But the Sage of Omaha just built a 3% stake in Swiss Re, worth roughly $800m. That’s not huge for Berkshire Hathaway, which had nearly $50bn of cash at the end of September. But it still looks like a vote of confidence in the downtrodden reinsurer’s prospects. Investors certainly took it that way, giving Swiss Re’s shares their biggest pop in years,...