pal insurance broker

The FDIC took over three banks yesterday, bringing the total Except for the chosen ones -- CEOs and the like who have outrageous salary and benefit packages -- almost nobody has been able to escape the financial pain in the world today.

'My pal Warren,' Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A and BRK.B), who only draws a $100,000 salary, has watched his net worth diminished by billions of dollars as his stock has unraveled like everything else. I last read Buffett had a 31% stake in Berkshire so he understands his shareholders angst, even if he does not feel their pain. The stock has dropped from a 52-week high of $151,650 to yesterday's close of $77,500 for a loss of 49%.

Once again in quarterly SEC filings Berkshire's holdings were released and I could not help but wonder if this great holding company had not become one more giant index fund. There are a lot of quality names in the mix including:

• Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI)
• Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO)
• ConocoPhillips (NYSE; COP)
• Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ)
• Kraft Foods'A' (: NYSE: KFT)
• Procter and Gamble (NYSE: PG)
• U.S. Bancorp (: NYSE: USB)
• Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC)

The above referenced stocks are all down with the market and there are still more that might be considered fallen angels or turn-around plays within Berkshire's holdings that include:

• American Express (NYSE: AXP)
• General Electric (NYSE: GE)
• Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS)
• Home Depot (NYSE: HD)
• Lowe's Cos (NYSE: