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Tim du Toit is editor and founder of Eurosharelab. On his website he reveals what more than 20 years of equity investment have taught him – sometimes at considerable cost. To discover how you can avoid costly mistakes and enjoy greater profits, sign up for his free newsletter “Investing that makes sense” at www.eurosharelab.com

Have you bought gold for your portfolio or at least considered doing so?

If yes, you are in good company as some of the best investors in the world (who stayed away from gold all their investment careers) have bought some.

But if value investors are known for their appetite of high-yielding investments and their desire to “buy a dollar at fifty cents”, is gold an asset that fits into this universe?

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By Jordan of www.investmentunderground.com

Berkshire shares are looking cheap again for value investors as the company approaches earnings after the close on November 5^th.

Berkshire’s earnings constitution is always in flux, with major acquisitions, debt financing and personnel announcements unique to the conglomerate. In the past two years alone, the company bought the entire Burlington Northern Railroad, entered into preferred share and warrants agreements with GE and Goldman Sachs, and announced the retirement of long-time Geico float manager Lou Simpson and addition of Todd Combs.

One of the largest impacts on Berkshire’s financial statements results from large swin

gs in Berkshire’s derivative positions implemented in 2007 and 2008. Berkshire Hathaway sold put options on the S&P 500, the FTSE 100 in the U.K., the Euro Stoxx 50 in Europe, and the Nikkei 225 in Japan. The put premiums collected totaled $4.9 Billion on $37.1 Billion in “exposure” at durations between 12 and 20 years. The puts are European-style options, meaning they are not exercisable prior to their expiration date.

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