- Buffett came into 2020 blocked from a major acquisition by low interest rates which have driven asset prices up while creating urgency to reduce Berkshire's cash position.
- The pandemic struck forcing him to sell airlines at a loss, accept losses in Occidental, and write down Berkshire's PCP division while the market crashed and rallied equally fast.
- The Fed swiftly propped up troubled companies with which he might have struck a deal, compounding the problem of being overbid by hedge funds.
- Buffett responded by buying dirt cheap Japanese trading companies, pharmaceuticals, and infrastructure assets, and buying a call on the future by taking a flyer with Snowflake.
- The biggest story is $18 billion of buybacks, reducing zero-yield cash, raising ROE, improving shareholder returns, and showing youthful flexibility and willingness to undertake new approaches.
For further details see:
Buffett's Response To A Trying Year Speaks Volumes About Berkshire And The Markets