If you knew what was going to happen in the economy, you still wouldn't necessarily know what was going to happen in the stock market. Warren Buffett More Quotes by Warren Buffett More Quotes From Warren Buffett In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield. Warren Buffett insperationalmirrorsbusiness There is seldom just one cockroach in the kitchen. You know, you turn on the light and, all of sudden, they all start scurrying around. Warren Buffett kitchencockroacheslight The best way in my view is to just buy a low-cost index fund and keep buying it regularly over time, because you'll be buying into a wonderful industry, which in effect is all of American industry... People ought to sit back and relax and keep accumulating over time. Warren Buffett relaxviewspeople Anyone who believes a growth rate in excess of 15% per annum over the long term is attainable should pursue a career in sales, but avoid one in mathematics. Warren Buffett careerslongbelieve If book knowledge made great investors, than the librarians would all be rich. Warren Buffett librarianrichbook We're still in a recession. We're not gonna be out of it for a while, but we will get out. Warren Buffett recessionsstills What the human being is best at doing is interpreting all new information so that their prior conclusions remain intact. Warren Buffett conclusioninformationhumans Benign neglect, bordering on sloth, remains the hallmark of our investment process. Warren Buffett hallmarkinvestmentsloth I won't close down a business of subnormal profitability merely to add a fraction of a point to our corporate returns. I also feel it inappropriate for even an exceptionally profitable company to fund an operation once it appears to have unending losses in prospect. Adam Smith would disagree with my first proposition and Karl Marx would disagree with my second; the middle ground is the only position that leaves me comfortable. Warren Buffett businesslossfirsts In the end, alchemy, whether it is metallurgical or financial, fails. A base business can not be transformed into a golden business by tricks of accounting or capital structure. The man claiming to be a financial alchemist may become rich. But gullible investors rather than business achievements will usually be the source of his wealth. Warren Buffett alchemistinvestingmen I understand Goldman Sachs businesses. We do lot of business with him, and GE has been - I think it's the longest running stock in the Dow Jones industrial average. It will be 100 years now it will be around. I hope I'm around then, too. And it was an attractive investment. And we have had a lot of money around, over the last two years, and we're seeing things that are attractive now. Warren Buffett runningaveragethinking That goes back to 1932, although it was really implemented in '33 under Jesse Jones, and it invested in mostly banks initially and preferred stock and that sort of thing. So there are two things needed in the system, the one that's needed overwhelmingly is liquidity. I mean, when people are trying to [unintelligible], there has to be somebody there to buy. Warren Buffett twomeanpeople In the long run managements stressing accounting appearance over economic substance usually achieve little of either. Warren Buffett stressbusinessrunning How do you beat Bobby Fischer? You play him at any game but chess. I try to stay in games where I have an edge. Warren Buffett gamesplaytrying I think that both parties should declare the debt limit as a political weapon of mass destruction which can't be used. I mean, it is silly to have a country that has 237 years building up its reputation and then have people threaten to tear it down because they're not getting some other matter. Warren Buffett partysillycountry I'll tell you why I like the cigarette business. It cost a penny to make. Sell it for a dollar. It's addictive. And there's a fantastic brand loyalty. Warren Buffett dollarsloyaltysmoking If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians. Warren Buffett changewiselife There are certain things that cannot be adequately explained to a virgin either by words or pictures. Warren Buffett one-linerone-linecertain Take the high road; it's far less crowded. Warren Buffett high-roadcrowdedtaking-the-high-road Would you rather be the world's greatest lover, but have everyone think you're the world's worst lover? Or would you rather be the world's worst lover but have everyone think you're the world's greatest lover? Now, that's an interesting question. Warren Buffett worldinterestingthinking