The vulture of Omaha

It didn't take long for Warren Buffet's name to come up in relation to the current market crisis. It turns out, according to rumors cited by the Wall Street Journal, that Mr. Buffet might buy parts of Countrywide Financial Corp., one of the nation's leading mortgage lenders (and now stuck in the subprime quicksand).

While he's not regarded as a vulture investor, Buffet is no stranger to the fine art of purchasing distressed securities. During the Long Term Capital Management Crisis in 1998, he offered to purchase its assets, an offer that was apparently rejected (this very relevant study by the Federal Reserve summarizes the episode)