Buffett corrects CNBC’s bad reporting

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett sent a terse e-mail to CNBC correcting an incorrect report, which the business news network later acknowledged on the air, reports Kaja Whitehouse of the New York Post.

Whitehouse writes, “In his rebuttal e-mail, a copy of which was provided to The Post by hedge-fund manager Whitney Tilson, Buffett said capital gains taxes don’t apply to estates.

“‘Mr. Kaminsky also made the statement that the estate that was a seller was better off by selling in 2012 than 2013,’ he wrote. ‘This, too, was incorrect.’

“He said capital gains are wiped out by stepped-up basis rules, with assets marked at their current fair-market value at the time of death.

“Buffett also blasted Kaminsky for saying his buyback was hypocritical on principal as Buffett is known to eschew buybacks.

“Buffett attached a copy of Berkshire’s 1984 annual report showing he has outlined conditions under which he would favor buybacks.

“CNBC anchor Melissa Lee read a correction late Tuesday that thanked the famed investor for ‘watching and setting us straight.'”

Read more here.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.

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Dave Price says:
December 15, 2012 at 11:48 am
Just one more example of how far CNBC has fallen. They had a choice several years ago when Fox Business first popped up: Keep digging and reporting the news or working to make the airways safe for any right-leaning viewpoint, no matter how ill-considered. Personally, I turned the channel soon after Rick Santelli's 'Tea Party' rant. And judging from the ratings, so have a lot of other people.