Watching Buffett

Warren Buffett released his annual shareholder letter last week, full of prescriptions for the American economy and the prediction that the housing market will recover in 2011. To continue our theme from yesterday, though, Buffett's actions are more significant than his words.

These are the Top Ten holdings in Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett's investment vehicle, as of the end of last year:

Coca-Cola

Wells Fargo

Burlington Northern

American Express

Proctor & Gamble

Kraft

Wal-Mart

Wesco Financial

ConocoPhillips

Johnson & Johnson

What's Buffett been buying? Iron Mountain, a document management company; Republic Services a waste-management company; Becton Dickinson, an insurer, and he's been adding to his positions in Wells Fargo and Wal-Mart. Berkshire Hathaway also finished its complete takeover of Burlington Northern.

What's he been selling? Among his top ten, Buffett has recently pared back positions in oil companies ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil, and in consumer-products giants Johnson & Johnson and Proctor & Gamble.