There has been a lot of chatter lately about the possibility of a second stimulus package for America, and now it has received the blessing of Warren Buffett.

On this morning's Good Morning America (on ABC), Buffett said, "I think that a second one [stimulus package] may well be called for ... you hope it doesn't get watered down in many ways." Buffett leveled criticism at the first stimulus bill, calling it "sort of like taking half a tablet of Viagra and having a bunch of candy mixed in."

While in an airport bookstore recently, this title caught me eye: How to Build a Business Warren Buffett Would Buy: The R.C. Willey Story.

How could I resist? I bought a copy and read the whole thing on my flight (OK, the book is only 192 pages).

The author of the book, Jeff Benedict, tracks the entrepreneurial career of Bill Child, who transformed a furniture business -- R.C. Willey -- into a retailing giant (he came on board the company in the mid 1950s when his father-in-law died).

Talk of "green shoots" abounds with the S&P 500 up 40% from its lows in March 2009, but Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) CEO Lloyd Blankfein remains cautious in his outlook for the global economy. "I think it's going to be a long, protracted recession," he said while speaking on a panel at the annual International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) conference in Tel Aviv.

Blankfein also emphasized the importance of intelligent regulation and risk management, warning fellow finance executives not to discount the latter. "The culture of risk management is very important and hard to legislate, but at the end of the day, you have to make sure that the people on the risk management side of your operation are just as capable, and maybe therefore, just as well-paid and have the career opportunities as people on the producing side of the business."

In The Cabot Benjamin Graham Value Letter, editor J. Royden Ward searches for stocks that meet the investing criteria of the legendary Ben Graham, known as the father of value investing and mentor of Warren Buffett.

Here, the advisor takes a look at Overseas Shipholding Group (NYSE: OSG), a crude oil and energy shipping operation.

"Overseas Shipholding is a leading crude oil and energy shipping company with 120 vessels either owned or leased. In addition, the company derives 25% of revenues from grain, coal, and iron ore.

Long-term growth stock expert Alexander Green sees long-term upside potential for conservative investors willing to invest along side of Warren Buffett.

Here, the investment director of The Oxford Club reviews Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B), a holding in his model portfolio.

"The market surprised investors with the magnitude of its drop over the last year and a half. Then it surprised them again with a furious rally that began in early March.

"What lies just ahead? No one knows for sure, of course. But we do know several investments that are attractively priced at current levels, such as Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B), a conservative choice, run by investment great Warren Buffett.

One of President Obama's accomplishments during his first 100 days was the passage of a $787 billion stimulus plan. I think the idea of economic stimulus makes sense when an economy is in the middle of a deflationary spiral. As I posted, that's when a drop in demand leads to excess productive capacity, causing companies to cut prices and fire workers, which in turn lowers demand as more workers -- whose consumer spending accounts for 70% of GDP growth -- have less to spend.

So far, only about 10% of the stimulus money has been doled out and it's not having much effect in counteracting this deflationary spiral. How so? First quarter GDP plunged 6.1% -- compared to a 6.3% decline in 2008's fourth quarter -- and the preliminary numbers are usually adjusted downward. The unemployment rate is expected to hit 8.9% in April from 8.5% in March.

"Stocks, by just about every long-term valuation measure, are undervalued," says John Reese, who continues to recommend putting money to work in undervalued stocks.

In his Validea newsletter, he selects "undervalued" issues by using screens based on the investment strategies of leading investors such as Peter Lynch, Ben Graham and Warren Buffett. Here's a a look at four current buys in the oil sector.

Reese explains, "If you think you can predict investors' emotional states, or how an unprecedented economic crisis will play out, then go ahead and wait for the bottom. I suffer no such delusions, however.

"Rather than playing the risky game of bottom-calling -- which more often than not leads to investors missing the big initial push of a new bull run -- I'll continue to put money into undervalued stocks.

"Though the past year has been tough for Warren Buffett, we still like Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B), which we believe is well-positioned for the year ahead," says Paul Tracy.

In his StreetAuthority Market Advisor, he looks at the holding company which is a position in his "undervalued gems" model portfolio. Here's his review.

"For only the second time in the investment-based company's 44 years, Buffett saw the book value of Berkshire drop. Of course his book value decline of 9.6% should be put in context with the 37% loss incurred by the S&P 500.

In what surely must be the PR move of the decade, Moody's Corp. (NYSE: MCO) has downgraded Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) from AAA to AA2.

Why is this a great PR move? Well, Berkshire owns 20% of Moody's. And what could be a better demonstration of Moody's independence and objectivity than its decision to downgrade the financial strength of its biggest shareholder?

Pretty clever, no? Sure -- unless you start to consider that Moody's and the other ratings agencies gorged on fees from investment banks to rate toxic waste for years -- using their AAA credit ratings to convince investors to buy the securities. Now that the ratings agencies have no fees to earn from rating toxic waste, they are studiously trying to rebuild their reputation for objectivity.

In the investment banking world, it's important to cultivate key relationships with powerful people. It is a way to riches.

This has certainly been the case with Byron Trott, a top Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) banker. His top client? Warren Buffett.

Well, it appears that Trott has decided to leave Goldman (keep in mind that Trott has been with the firm since the early 1980s). That is, he will now operate his own merchant bank. In fact, he plans to raise as much as $2 billion for a fund.

In his Validea newsletter and his just published book Guru Strategies, stock advisor John Reese assesses companies based on the investment strategies of "legendary investors" such as Ben Graham and Warren Buffett.

Recently, the advisor has highlighted two retailers that pass his guru screens: Gildan Activewear (NYSE: GIL) and Jos. A. Bank Clothiers (NASDAQ: JOSB). Here's his contrarian look at the two out-of-favor firms.

"You might never have heard Gildan Activewear, a Montreal-based clothing manufacturer, but you may well have worn its products. Gildan sells T-shirts, sport shirts and fleece to wholesale distributors as 'blanks' -- that is, without logos or decorating. Screen printers then decorate the items with various designs and logos.