The good thing about not following the herd, is that in the long run, it delivers you opportunities that no one else can take advantage of. Warren Buffett, largely seen as one of the world’s top investors, spent most of the credit boom sitting on his hands.

David Sokol, widely viewed as the leading candidate to eventually replace investing guru Warren Buffett as the chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A, BRK.B), is changing jobs.

Maybe we could start a club, but it wouldn’t be very exclusive. It seems everybody belongs to the cadre of people who made dumb stock decisions at least once.

The Oracle of Omaha — aka Warren Buffett — says stocks in the US still aren’t cheap. Instead, he continues to focus on the credit markets where bargains rule in early 2008.

Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway, released fourth quarter results last week and showed a decline in year-over-year earnings. Although Buffett holds very little derivatives exposure (only for currency hedging), his insurance holdings are facing stiffer headwinds since last fall, along with the rest of the industry.

Euroland struggles with inflation and economic strangulation by currency appreciation…rice shortages …Nebraskan ”common sense” says it’s recession…commodities through the roof….the dollar through the floor…and Murray beats Federer. Oh, wanna cut price Porsche? Buy a Volkswagen.

EU interest rates are likely to stick at 4% reports the FT as inflation remains at a 14-year high 3.2%. Euroland exporters must be screaming. Less commercially minded bureaucrats are worried too.

Today’s LA Times carries a grim report on the growing number of bankruptcy filings in the US.

“American consumers’ bankruptcy filings jumped 15% in February from the previous month,” reports the paper, “and a steeper rise is looming because of the sub-prime mortgage crisis, the American Bankruptcy Institute said Monday.”

The Dow got walloped hard on Friday, down 315 points. But it still remains well above the lows it hit in January.

The Sage of Omaha has spoken out on the state of the US economy. “From a common-sense standpoint right now, we’re in a recession,” Warren Buffett said today on CNBC television.