The Dow Jones Industrials (^DJI 0.06%) are aiming for their sixth straight day of gains, and the attention today is divided between the Federal Reserve's policy meeting and ongoing wrangling over fiscal-cliff negotiations. So many times in the past, investors have gotten big gains by buying in advance of Fed decisions to continue or add to existing stimulus programs, and that seems to be the consensus view today, as the Dow is up about 10 points as of 10:45 a.m. EST.
But the big news-maker this morning was Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A 0.64%) (BRK.B 0.54%), which soared 2.5% on news that the Warren Buffett-led company had bought a billion-dollar block of shares from the estate of a longtime investor at prices above its former limit of 1.1 times book value. In a press release (link opens PDF), Berkshire said it was now authorized to buy back shares at up to 120% of book value, raising the level of the perceived floor on the stock price. With shareholders having long bemoaned Berkshire's inability to reach its true intrinsic value, future Berkshire repurchases could help bolster confidence in the stock.
Among Dow stocks, Wal-Mart (WMT -0.65%) fell almost 2.4%. Yesterday, CEO Mike Duke told the Council on Foreign Relations that the fiscal-cliff debate is causing consumers to rein in their holiday spending as public awareness of the crisis rises. With Duke citing figures that 15% of its core customers said the cliff would affect what they spend this holiday season, investors are clearly concerned that, barring an improbable solution before Christmas, Wal-Mart's busiest time of year might fall short of expectations.
Finally, DuPont (DD) led the Dow's gainers, rising almost 2%. The chemical company gave earnings guidance for the full 2012 year at the high end of forecasts, spurring investors to believe that its recent drops have made the stock cheap. DuPont also said it would buy back shares.
