It's that time of the year again when famed investors - from Warren Buffett to Carl Icahn to T. Boone Pickens - have updated their quarterly filings in which they must disclose their stock holdings.
First off, it's generally useful to follow the picks of these masters. Why? They've likely done serious research, have a proven track record and are usually long-term investors, so you don't have to worry that they'll be "pumping and dumping."
Despite the turmoil in mortgages that started earlier this year, Buffett has been building up positions in banks that don't have a lot of subprime exposure but have been pummeled nonetheless.
Buffett announced a new nine million-share position in
Bank of America (BAC) worth $425 million. Bank of America has $1.5 trillion in assets, trades at nine times earnings and has a dividend yielding 5%.
Buffett also added to his position in
US Bancorp (USB). The bank is in the fortunate position of having such
