Letters to the Editor

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Warren Buffett's sweet tooth
What does the Mars Inc./Wrigley's merger prove? In hard times, we cut back on the fancy dinners, but not the cheap chocolate bars.
Andrew Leonard [2008-04-28]
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  • Defensive stocks

    Buffet's right (of course). People will always crave candy (especially chocolate). Alcohol and tobacco also make good D stocks--the worse things get, the more people need a cold beer and a smoke. Just my observation...

    -- cdunlea
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    Monday, April 28, 2008 09:37 AM

  • Isn't Warren Buffett famous for saying...

    ... you shouldn't invest in any company that you can't explain what they do with one sheet of paper and a crayon? I think that was Buffett. Anyway, it's good advice. It applies in this situation. Who can really explain what Bear Stearns does? Can they? Mars and Wrigley... I get that. I really do.

    When times are bad, people skip the restaurant meals out, but they still eat candy, drink alcohol, and go to the movies. It's all about escape.

    -- froggy
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    Monday, April 28, 2008 10:04 AM

  • Movies, too.

    It seems like the great depression was the best thing that ever happened to the "talkies". People want to get their minds off their troubles they look for escapist entertainment. That could also be why WoW and Second life are doing so well. Or why SF/Fantasy novels took off during the 70s and early 80s.

    -- IaintBacchus
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    Monday, April 28, 2008 10:17 AM

  • The Depression & Movies

    Don't bet on a bad economy being good for Hollywood. A couple of major studios nearly went bankrupt in the early '30s. As I recall, Shirley Temple saved Fox and Mae West saved Paramount, but it was touch and go for awhile.

    Joan Rivers recounts an interesting story of being one of just a handful of people who bothered showing up for Mae West's funeral in 1980. Not a single executive from Paramount came to the service. As Joan put it, Mae "outlived her fame".

    -- sunspot
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    Monday, April 28, 2008 11:12 AM

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