Barron’s roundtable discussion/predictions 2014 is out. Last year, the picks did very well. The link to the full article can be found here. Berkshire board member Meryl Witmer is a member of the roundtable. She had very little to say this year, but her words are worth listening to. Below are her thoughts on four different questions discussed by the panel, but first her picks from last year…
| Meryl Witmer’s Picks | ||||
| Company/Ticker | Price 1/11/2013 |
Price 12/31/2013 |
Change | Total Return |
| Spectrum Brands Holdings/SPB | $48.11 | $70.55 | 46.60% | 48.70% |
| Chicago Bridge & Iron/CBI | 47.22 | 83.14 | 76.1 | 76.5 |
| Tribune Company/TRBAA | 49.25 | 77.4 | 57.2 | 57.2 |
Enough! Meryl, what is your economic forecast for this year?
Witmer: The U.S. economy could grow by 3%, maybe a little more. Companies are doing well. Fracking is a help. Manufacturing companies are onshoring [bringing production back to the U.S. from other countries]. Stocks, however, don’t look inexpensive.
There’s a big debate in the market about profit margins. If they are unsustainably high, stocks could soon look more expensive. Will margins come down, or have they shifted to a higher level indefinitely?
Witmer: It looks like there’s more greed than fear in the market.
On Fracking
Witmer: They will have higher stock prices to use as deal currency.
If China slows
Witmer: But China will have cleaner air.