Shorter Bond Durations May Mean Buffett Sees Interest Rates Moving Higher

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Warren Buffett

An increase in short-duration bonds in the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio is being seen as a sign Warren Buffett expects higher interest rates sooner rather than later.

Bloomberg lookedat Berkshire's quarterly report released late last week, and found that "21 percent of holdings including Treasuries, municipal debt, foreign-government securities and corporate bonds were due in one year or less as of June 30."

Bloomberg says that's up from 18 percent as of March 31 and 16 percent at the end of June last year.

It quotes Stifel Nicolaus analyst Meyer Shields as saying, "It may be a sign that Buffett expects interest rates to start rising, maybe sooner than the conventional wisdom."

As early as last year, Buffett was warningthat although massive government spending was necessary to prevent an economic collapse, it could also fuel inflation.

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