Business events scheduled for Friday (AP)

Major business and economic events scheduled for Friday:

WASHINGTON ? Commerce Department releases wholesale trade inventories for February, 10 a.m.

BERLIN ? Germany's Federal Statistical Office releases export and import data for February.

LISBON ? Portuguese commuters endure another morning rail strike as trade unions keep up their protests against austerity measures that came into force last year in the debt-heavy country.

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How a Government Shutdown Affects Your Tax Refund

On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that there will likely be a government shutdown effective Friday at midnight. In response to the deadline, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management has posted information on its website indicating that federal employees whose salaries are funded through annual appropriations won't be able to work and will be furloughed, unless their duties qualify under the law as "excepted" to continue to work during periods of lapsed appropriations. That means approximately 800,000 government workers will be asked to stay home until the budget crisis is resolved. And yes, that includes those government workers at the Internal Revenue Service.

Don't get too excited, though. The IRS Commissioner, Doug Schulman, has announced that a government shutdown will not affect the due date for federal income tax returns. Tax Day is still April 18, 2011.

Even though the due date remains the same, there will be some noticeable changes if the government does shut down. Chief among them: There will be a delay in processing paper returns, which are those returns taxpayers mail through the U.S. Postal Service or have submitted using a private delivery service. A delay in processing will likely mean that there will be a significant lag in your refund if you submit a paper return this year or if your return must be processed manually because you are claiming a first-time homebuyer's credit or the newly refundable adoption credit.

Fortunately, most taxpayers have already submitted their tax returns. As of March 25, the IRS reported receipt of 82,760,000 individual returns; total receipts are expected to hover around 140,000,000. About one-third of all individual tax returns for the year will be mailed between now and Tax Day, April 18. Most of those taxpayers won't be seeking a refund, however. Statistically, taxpayers expecting to receive a tax refund file early in the season; those taxpayers expecting to pay a tax bill tend to put it off toward the end of the season. That is proving true this year since, according to IRS data, approximately 85% of taxpayers who have already filed received a refund.

While delayed tax refunds may be cause for concern for some taxpayers, others are getting a reprieve. With nonessential workers on furlough, audits and collections activities are likely to slow down.

Of course, these actions are all dependent on an actual government shutdown. How likely is that to happen? Consider this: The fiscal year is 189 days old and Congress has yet to pass a budget. Instead, Congress has passed six -- yes, six -- short-term spending bills. The first proposed budget was submitted by President Obama last year, an amazing 431 days ago. There has been no real movement since. Nobody knows for certain what will happen next ... but don't be surprised to see a "Closed" sign on the IRS doors next week.

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Five top share Isa picks

Run by a team led by Devan Kaloo the fund has its largest region exposure in Brazil at 17 per cent. But this concentration does not seem to have affected the fund's performance ? if you had invested in the fund five years ago, you would have seen your money double, while those who jumped in last year would have a return of 22 per cent.

Mark Dampier of Hargreaves Lansdown said: "An emphasis on quality rather than fashion, Mr Kaloo won't lose his head, which means investors can sleep at night. The fund is ideal, too, for monthly savings plans."

The fund is heavily exposed to financials; energy, consumer staples and information technology companies make up the rest.

3 Liontrust special situations fund

This fund can invest in any UK company regardless of size or sector ? aiming to give investors the best opportunities across all the indices. As a "special situations" fund, the managers look for companies they think are under underappreciated by the market.

The fund has returned 68 per cent over the past five years, and 31 per cent in the past 12 months alone. Adrian Lowcock of Bestinvest said: "The team have a unique approach to investing and are pure stock pickers, looking for companies with an economic advantage such as intellectual property, which provides them with a competitive edge and increased profitability."

4 M&G Global basics

Investing in "basic" industries such as commodities equities, consumer goods companies, industrials, oil and gas, this fund is quite specialist.

It has returned an impressive 56 per cent over the past five years, though it has lost 3.7 per cent in the past month.

Philippa Gee, who runs her own wealth management company, said the fund was the perfect way to get specialised exposure ? but you will need to balance your portfolio for diversification.

"You need to understand that this more focused approach for sectors means that it is not truly diversified and you should build up other exposure to balance against this," she said. "This is a popular fund and with good reason, as there has been a consistency that many other funds aspire to."

5 Edinburgh Investment Trust

Launched in 1952, the trust aims to grow at a faster rate than the FTSE All Share index, and increase the dividend each year by more than the rate of UK inflation.

And the fund seems to be hitting its target ? the annual dividend, paid last July, was 6.35p per share, up from 6.13p per share the year before. The top 10 holdings read like the top 10 largest companies of the FTSE 100 ? but the fund does have 15 per cent exposure to overseas equities.

Brian Dennehy, of Dennehy Weller & Co, said: "In a nutshell, this is another Neil Woodford vehicle. The holdings are similar to those in the Invesco Perpetual Income and High Income funds. If you believe the prospects for markets are at least fair, and you are a Woodford fan, this is one for you."

The current share price is 439p.

Discover the top-selling ISAs and get 0% commission when you order online with Telegraph ISA-fund Supermarket.

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Kudos To Paul Ryan And The GOP For Acknowledging Our Budget Mess

Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-WI) plan to cut the budget deficit makes some laughable assumptions and leaves many questions unanswered:
Namely, where the $4.4 trillion of the $6.2 trillion of "savings" are going to come from.

Ryan doesn't have the balls to actually specify these cuts: He just proposes capping federal spending at 20% of GDP. In the absence of specifics, saying that the plan will save $6.2 trillion over 10 years is misleading.

But Ryan and the Republicans deserve a lot of credit for at least acknowledging the huge fiscal mess the United States is in and proposing specific long-term remedies for dealing with it.

For the last several years, the United States has acted as though it can have everything forever: All the services and benefits everyone wants while also cutting taxes. The country's $1.6 trillion ANNUAL deficit, combined with debt approaching 100% of GDP (which doesn't even factor in future healthcare and Social Security liabilities) reveal that this is a pipe dream. (See: A Short Course On Why The US Is Screwed)

What can't go on forever won't. Our leaders have a duty to acknowledge the problem and propose a way out--even if the solutions are temporarily unpopular.

(That's what true leadership is, by the way: Doing the right thing even when it's unpopular, and finding a way to get folks to follow and support you because you can make them understand that it's the right thing).

The Republicans and Paul Ryan are at least taking steps in this direction. They are acknowledging our problem and proposing concrete steps to deal with it.

The Democrats, meanwhile, are just stuffing their heads in the sand.

This year's budget negotiations are pretty much irrelevant. Whether this year's budget cuts $30 billion of spending or $60 billion, the savings will be a rounding error on the overall deficit.

The Democrats have yet to even acknowledge the massive long-term problem the country faces, let alone propose to solutions to it.

We understand and respect the concern about whacking the budget in the midst of a fragile recovery--it's a valid one. If the Democrats were defending the minor cuts in this year's budget by proposing them in conjunction with a compelling long-term plan, we'd be more sympathetic.

As it is, we can only conclude the following: The Democrats are still dreaming of a perpetual free lunch. (And they'll do and say anything to get re-elected.)

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Summary Box: Cisco pulls tech stocks higher (AP)

CISCO JUMPS: Technology stocks rose Wednesday after the CEO of Cisco Systems Inc. promised to take "bold steps" to narrow the company's focus. Cisco rose 5 percent, the most of any company in the Dow Jones industrial average.

MORE OIL: Energy companies fell. The Energy Information Administration said U.S. crude supplies grew more than expected last week, rising by 2 million barrels, much more than analysts expected.

THE INDEXES: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 33 points to 12,426. The S&P 500 rose 3 points to 1,335. The Nasdaq composite rose 8, or 0.3 percent, to 2,799.

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Tsunami worries mount as new earthquake hits Japan

An earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale has rocked Japan. The epicentre of the quake is of Japan's northeastern coast, and 40 kilometers under-water. The Japan meteorological agency has issued a tsunami warning for a wave of up to one meter. CNBC's Charles Haddock shares details on the tragedy.

Below is a verbatim transcript of Charles Haddocks report. Also watch the accompanying video.

Tokoyo was rattled by the earthquake even though it was some 200 miles away. The epicenter of this 7.4 earthquake was about 70 miles from Fukoshima and the local Tsunami warning has been issued for the area. Now, the area around Fukoshima was build to withstand a 25 foot surge of water. The problem was that the 9.0 earthquake that hit about 4 weeks ago was a 45 foot wave. Therefore, it should be able to withstand the wave. They were just about ready to make some progress in cleaning up and getting the cooling system back in order at the Fukoshima plant. It is know yet what this earthquake has done to that effort.

TEPCO has certainly taken a beating, but no company or country has been through something like this an earthquake of a magnitude of 9.0, tsunami and then a nuclear leak in three to four reactors. They are doing the best they can. They have had some missteps along the way. However, in this week they were making progress. They were able to stop that leak of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean. They were injecting nitrogen gas into the containment buildings to try to stabilize the atmosphere for the reactors. They still have a lot of water pooling around the reactors and the buildings. They have to get rid of that before they can get in and really repair the infrastructure of the reactor units, try to stabilize them before they can permanently shut them down for good.

It is too early know about casualties from their fresh earthquake. Earlier in the day, they had made a significant effort to try to enter the 12 mile radius around the nuclear plant to try to find more victims from the massive tsunami that swept the region. They wanted to be able to get the bodies out of there before they deteriorated too much and try to bring some condolence to the families of the victims there. That effort obviously has been suspended for the night. We dont know what the earthquake has done to the infrastructure around Fukoshima. Are the roads wiped out? Are the railroads still in a mess? Its night time and information from that region has been hard to get in the best of times. Its certainly not coming forth tonight.

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Live Longer by Shopping More Often, Study Suggests

A new study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health suggests that older people could live longer if they shopped more often. The study of almost 1,850 people in Taiwan showed a marked increase in longevity among those who hit the stores on a daily basis.

The population, all 65 or older, were living independently at the start of the study in 1999-2000. The researchers then tracked their mortality.

Of those surveyed, 48% never, or almost never, shopped during the week. 13% shopped once a week, 22% went shopping up to four times a week, and 17% shopped every day.

54% of the study were men, who were mostly financially self-sufficient. However, many were smokers and drinkers, albeit in good mental health, exercising regularly, and with an active social network.

The study found that those who shopped daily were 27% less likely to die; for men, the figure was 28%, for women 23%.

The authors of the study did concede that shopping and good health could simply go together in the first place. After all, the act of shopping, especially if one has to walk to the store, is not a habit that someone already in poor health is likely to acquire.

They did, however, suggest that the act of shopping could contribute to longer life by providing exercise, a steady supply of good, fresh food, and companionship. "The conventional view of health promotion focuses on physical activity, but engaging in social and economic activities later in life may also contribute to better health", according to the researchers.

So the next time someone criticizes you for frequent shopping, ignore them, confident in the knowledge that your addiction will help you live long enough to dance at their funeral.

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European Central Bank raises interest rates for first time in nearly three years despite Portugal bailout

The ECB also raised its deposit rate by 25 basis points to 0.5pc, and increased its marginal lending rate by the same amount to 2pc.

ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet will talk about the reasoning behind the bank's decision at a news conference starting at 1.30pm London time.

Bank of England policymakers held rates despite a surge in inflation. The majority of the Monetary Policy Committee members continue to judge the economic recovery as too shaky to withstand higher rates.

They are betting that inflation of 4.4pc - more than double the target - will ease once oil and food prices come down.

Most economists were expecting the Bank of England to leave rates unchanged. Simon Ward, Henderson's chief economist, was the only one of 67 forecasters polled by Reuters to forecast a rates rise.

Howard Archer of IHS Global Insight said the decision "indicates that serious concerns and uncertainties over the growth outlook deterred the MPC from acting despite the pressure for higher interest rates coming from elevated and still rising consumer price inflation".

The MPC, which sets interest rates, said last month that a rise in oil prices, fanned by tension in the Middle East and North Africa, had increased risks to both inflation and growth.

Three of the nine MPC members voted to raise interest rates last month, but economist says there is little evidence so far that Britain's economy has enjoyed a strong rebound from the shock contraction at the end of 2010.

Economists believe this is needed to convince Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, and the majority on the MPC that it is time to raise rates.

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Bankrupt Blockbuster Bought By DISH Network ? Look Out, Netflix?

Satellite TV operator DISH network has outbid several other suitors for the assets of video-rental chain Blockbuster, which were auctioned off in bankruptcy court yesterday.

DISH paid about $321 million for the company, which has about 1,700 store locations.

What will DISH do with Blockbuster?

DISH CEO Charlie Ergen hasn't laid out any specific plans yet, but he will presumably use the chain in at least a few ways.

First, the Blockbuster stores can serve as local sales and service outlets for the DISH service. Second, DISH subscribers might be able to rent Blockbuster's DVDs or stream movies online, allowing DISH to compete directly with Netflix--one of the companies that helped put Blockbuster out of business.

And so what does the deal mean for Netflix?

In the short-term, probably very little. Netflix won its war with Blockbuster a few years ago, and it has since amassed a stunning 20 million subscribers to its US DVD and streaming service. As Netflix CEO Reed Hastings recently spelled out in this interview with me, Netflix is laser-focused on offering its $8-a-month streaming service, rather than competing in pay-per-view or movie sales the way many of its online competitors are doing. This simple value proposition has resonated with customers, and Netflix's subscriber base has boomed in the past two years.

In the longer term, the DISH-Blockbuster combination will add yet another big competitor to a crowded and noisy market, in which satellite companies, cable companies, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Netflix, Hulu, networks, and studios are all fighting for control of premium video distribution of the future.

Right now, Netflix is by far the most successful of the new entrants, but the industry is changing fast. And the DISH-Blockbuster combination may create another player that everyone needs to pay attention to.

See Also: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH REED HASTINGS: Netflix's Market Opportunity Is Bigger Than You Think

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The SOX Tests 50-Day Simple Moving Average as Nasdaq Struggles

The key to sustaining gains requires that the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) trends above its 50-day simple moving average at 445.43. The NASDAQ has traded several days above 2800 since testing 2840.51 on February 18, but has not had a single daily close above 2800 since February 18. All daily charts (except the SOX) are extremely overbought on their daily charts with the S&P 500, the NASDAQ and the NASDAQ 100 (NDA) below their February 18 highs at 1344.07 SPX, 2840.51 NASDAQ, and 2403.52 NDA.

Stocks Remain Overvalued Fundamentally ? We are operating under a ValuEngine Valuation Watch with more than 60% of all stocks overvalued. Today 64.3% of all stocks are overvalued. In addition all 16 sectors are overvalued with nine by double-digit percentages. A ValuEngine Valuation Warning occurs when more than 65% of all stocks are overvalued. This last occurred at the mid-February highs. The last time we had a ValuEngine Valuation Warning was February 18.

10-Year Note ? (3.545) The yield on the 10-year is trading above its 50-day simple moving average at 3.472 as bond traders worry about inflation. Annual and quarterly value levels are 3.796 and 4.016 with a daily pivot at 3.513 and weekly and monthly risky levels at 3.275 and 3.181.

Comex Gold ? ($1461.6) Gold traded to a new all-time high at $1463.7, above my semiannual pivot at $1452.6. Daily and annual value levels are $1448.0 and $1356.5 with semiannual pivot at $1452.6, and weekly, quarterly and monthly risky levels at $1473.0, $1523.7 and $1559.9.

Nymex Crude Oil ? ($108.59) Traded to a new 52-week high at $109.15, above my semiannual pivot at $107.14, but below this week?s risky level at $110.68. My annual and monthly value levels are $101.92, $101.09 and $99.91 with daily and semiannual pivots at $108.08 and $107.14, and weekly and quarterly risky levels at $110.68, $114.27 and $120.52.

The Euro ? (1.4327) Traded to a new 52-week high at 1.4348 versus weekly and quarterly pivots at 1.4328 and 1.4308. Daily and monthly pivots are 1.4154 and 1.4170 with quarterly and weekly pivots at 1.4308 and 1.4328, and semiannual risky level at 1.4624.

Daily Dow ? (12,427) Traded to a new 52-week high at 12,450.93 below this month?s risky level at 12,481. Weekly, annual and semiannual value levels are 12,317, 11,491, 10,959, and 9,449 with monthly, daily, quarterly and annual risky levels at 12,481, 12,484, 13,774 and 13,890.

Key Levels for the Other Major Equity Averages ? All major equity averages are overbought on their daily charts except for the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX), which has a neutral daily chart. The SOX tested its 50-day simple moving average at 445.36.

S&P 500 ? (1335.5) My weekly pivot is 1328.1 with the February 18 high at 1344.07, and daily and monthly risky levels at 1342.4. and 1360.0. My quarterly value level is 1277.7.

NASDAQ ? (2800) My weekly pivot is 2762 with a daily pivot at 2816, the February 18 high at 2840.51, and monthly risky level at 2898.

NASDAQ 100 (NDX) ? (2332) My weekly pivot is 2329 with the February 16 high at 2403.52, and daily, monthly, annual and quarterly risky levels at 2345, 2477, 2590 and 2685.

Dow Utilities ? (417.05) My semiannual value level is 397.84 with weekly and daily pivots at 412.49 and 419.00 and monthly and quarterly risky levels at 423.25 and 448.17.

Dow Transports ? (5344) My annual, weekly and monthly pivots are 5179, 5341 and 5371 with daily risky level at 5425. The high for the move is 5404.33 set on Friday, April 1.

Russell 2000 ? (854.17) Annual and quarterly value levels are 784.16 and 778.81 with a weekly pivot at 848.50, and daily and monthly risky levels at 863.47 and 856.67. Set a new high for the move on Tuesday at 858.05.

The SOX ? (445.50) My weekly pivot is 427.31 with a daily pivot at 441.11, the 50-day simple moving average at 445.43, and monthly, quarterly and annual risky levels at 452.34, 498.75 and 531.14.

Editor's Note: This article was written by Richard Suttmeier, chief market strategist at ValuEngine.com, which is a fundamentally based quant research firm in Princeton, New Jersey, that covers more than 5,000 stocks every day.

Lasting through April 15, 100% of the donations made to The Ruby Peck Foundation for Children's Education will be channeled to the children of Japan as they attempt to find their footing following this natural disaster; and to kick off this drive, we'll pledge $5000 to get it started. Please do what you can, as it will add up, and thanks.

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Consumers borrowed more in February to buy cars (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Consumers borrowed more money in February to buy new cars but cut back on pulling out their credit cards to make purchases.

The Federal Reserve says consumers increased their borrowing by $7.6 billion in February. It was the fifth consecutive monthly gain.

All of the strength came in the category that includes car loans. Borrowing in the category that covers credit cards fell. That category has risen only once in the more than two years since the 2008 financial crisis peaked.

The gains in total credit pushed borrowing up to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2.42 trillion in February. That's 1 percent from the three-year low hit in September. Economists believe consumers need to start borrowing more to support sustained economic growth.

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As Shutdown Looms, Congress ?Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place,? Tonelson Says

Odds of a government shutdown rose Tuesday after talks between the White House and House Republicans broke down...and the political rhetoric heated up.

There's "no excuse" to not pass a budget for the remainder of the fiscal year, President Obama said. "Nobody gets 100% of what they want, and we have more than met the Republicans halfway at this point?there's no reason why we should not get an agreement."

In his own impromptu press conference, House Speaker John Boehner said he would continue to fight for "the largest spending cuts possible" and not "allow the Senate and the White House to put us in a box."

With three days to go before the current continuing resolution runs out, and neither side wanting to be blamed for a shutdown, there's still time for Congress to reach a budget deal.

"There's a long, rich tradition of [politicians] being able to reach compromise when time is about to reach out," says Alan Tonelson, research fellow at the U.S. Business and Industry Council.

Tonelson suggests there may be "one or two more continuing resolutions" before a final deal is reached, notwithstanding President Obama's protestations on that issue: "What we are not going to do is once again put off something that should have gotten done months ago," he said.

Still, Tonelson notes there's a "very deep philosophical spilt" between Democrats and Republicans, as well as an internal split between the old-line GOP and freshmen members of the Tea Party. "Given the major philosophical issues at stake, the exact path to compromise is very difficult to see right now."

More importantly, Toneslon ? as with prior guests ? frets the current budget debate is missing the bigger picture of what really ails the U.S. economy. (See: David Walker: Budget Debate "Like Arguing About the Bar Tab on the Titanic")

Between Rock & Hard Place

First, the economy's reliance on government stimulus means budget cuts will result in slower growth and higher unemployment, he says, as has been the case in the U.K. and other European nations that adopted austerity measures.

Congress is "caught between a rock and a hard place," Tonelson says. "As important as taxes, spending and the size of government questions are, you can't forget our fundamental problem is our economy became very unproductive in the 1990s and first decade of this century."

For example, while there a "strong case to be made for more tax cuts," any reform should focus on creating incentives for corporations to create U.S. jobs, rather than on the absolute level of taxation, he says.

If not, "way too much of this tax windfall will be use for investing overseas, and the rest for unproductive activity like stock buybacks," Tonelson warns. "We've been down that road and it doesn't work for the long-term health of the U.S. economy."

Aaron Task is the host of The Daily Ticker. You can follow him on Twitter at @atask or email him at altask@yahoo.com

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Our Debt Binge Is Ending ? And The Middle Class Will Get Clobbered

The world is coming to the end of a 50-year debt supercycle, John Mauldin says, and the austerity required to put us back on solid financial footing will hammer ordinary Americans.

Mauldin, a financial analyst and the author of ENDGAME: The End Of The Debt Supercycle And How It Changes Everything, thinks that the the US will soon be forced to confront the fact that it has borrowed way too much in the past few decades and must severely cut back.

The US's $1.6 trillion-a-year deficit, Mauldin believes, must quickly be cut to about $300 billion a year, or the US will face a debt crisis. And given that our current government can barely find ways to chop $30 billion of spending from the 2011 budget, these cuts are going to be painful.

What will the forced austerity mean for ordinary Americans?

Higher taxes and significantly reduced Medicare and Medicaid spending, for starters, Mauldin says. And then cuts to almost everything else in the budget, including military spending and education.

In other words, as has so often been the case in the past couple of decades, the middle class will bear the brunt of the impact.

See Also: Budget Battle Will Likely Lead to Crisis and Recession, Says John Mauldin

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Equitable Life: outcome not so equitable for all policyholders

The company says any policyholder who invested �10,000 into Equitable 15 years ago would now have savings worth a modest �14,000. By taking the one-off bonus this would rise to �16,000.

Equitable says it expects to pay out �40m to 30,000 policyholders during the first year, but in reality many more are likely to take advantage of the offer, having been trapped in their low-paying investments for many years.

Whilst this is good news for some people, it serves to remind us of those who were not so lucky.

Paul Weir, of the Equitable Members Action Group (Emag), said the money is a "drop in the ocean compared to the �6bn people have lost over the past two decades". The bonus has also come too late for the thousands of Equitable policyholders who have already died.

Let's just hope ministers and regulators prevent anything like this ever happening again.

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Warren Buffett?s PR Nightmare: The Sokol Saga Continues

"If questioned about this matter in the future, I will simply refer the questioner back to this release," Warren Buffett declared last week when he announced David Sokol's resignation.

Buffett may have wanted to have the last word, but the controversy isn't going away.

Buffett's claim that Sokol did nothing "unlawful" remains to be determined. The SEC is reportedly weighing an investigation of Sokol's trading in Lubrizol shares ahead of Berkshire Hathaway's bid for the company last month.

However, Sokol clearly violated Berkshire Hathaway's policy that bars company officials from trading in public companies "that may be involved in a significant transaction with Berkshire," The WSJ reports.

The key issue here is that Sokol first acquired Lubrizol shares in December after being pitched the company by Berkshire's bankers at Citigroup. (See: Did Buffett Blow It? The Sokol Story Doesn't Add Up )

Because of the nature of the meeting -- a top Berkshire executive meeting with the firm's M&A bankers -- it's unfair to compare Sokol's Lubrizol trades with Charlie Munger's position in BYD, as some apologists have done. Munger reportedly owned BYD "for years" in a personal account prior to Berkshire's purchase. By contrast, Sokol's fiduciary duty was to the firm and its shareholders in this case, not his personal portfolio.

Buffett: Myth vs. Reality

Given that, Buffett's public statements visa vis Sokol's trades are hard to fathom. If Sokol violated Berkshire's policy, why did Buffett defend his rumored successor and not fire him "for cause"? And does Buffet really think anyone will believe the Lubrizol trades were "not a factor in [Sokol's] decision to resign," as he claimed last week?

Having been the beneficiary of largely glowing coverage over the years ? some it deserved ? perhaps Buffett has started to believe his own press clippings.

Of course, some of this is our own fault. It was na�ve to think that Buffett could become one of the world's richest men merely by being a nice guy who outworked and outsmarted the competition. Arguably, he's done as good a job managing the media as his portfolio, as another legendary investor ? Michael Steinhardt ? suggested on CNBC this week.

But no one is above reproach or above the law and it seems like the time has (finally) come for the investing public ? and once-fawning journalists ? to ask: Is Buffett's image as a purveyor of "homespun wisdom" reality or merely just spin? (See: Will the Real Warren Buffett Please Stand Up? )

Aaron Task is the host of The Daily Ticker. You can follow him on Twitter at @atask or email him at altask@yahoo.com

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