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’Berkshire reveals new investments
Billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway on Monday revealed new investments in Nestle and Exxon Mobil and said it has nearly doubled its investment in Wal-Mart Stores, reports Reuters. It disclosed the investments,
Buffett bets $26bn on US and BNSF
Warren Buffett on Tuesday struck his biggest deal with the $26.6bn purchase of Burlington Northern Santa Fe, one of the largest US railroad operators, in what the billionaire investor called an “all-in wager” on America’s economic future.
All aboard the Buffett express …choo, choo!
Is this the most expensive train set ever?
No it’s this one!
Yup, yup. In one fell swoop Warren Buffett has potentially achieved an ambition of a lifetime and got himself a train set (that is,
More homespun wisdom from the Sage
It’s nice to see the world’s most successful investor kicking himself — even if it is only for not reining in the bankers.
The BBC is making the most of a recent interview with Warren Buffett, running articles,
The Sage’s sartorial splendour, Chinese-style
We all know that any whiff of interest from uber-investment guru Warren Buffett puts a rocket under any stock, and that many punters follow his every move and thought.
But now, it seems, there are devotees who even want to dress like the Sage of Omaha too.
Cadbury raises pressure on Kraft
Cadbury’s chief executive Todd Stitzer delivered a bullish assessment of the UK confectioner’s business strategy to investors on Wednesday, emphasising its growth prospects in emerging markets as it resists Kraft’s £10.2bn takeover approach.
[The Lehman Anniversary] Quotes du crise
FT Alphaville presents a selection of visionary — and not so visionary — quotes from the Lehman crisis.
To start, Dick Fuld, CEO of Lehman, on October 6, 2008:
I’m not sure I would say it was a house of cards .
Buffett’s Berkshire buys corporate debt
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is buying corporate debt and non-US government securities as the billionaire investor’s spending on stocks falls to the lowest in more than five years, reports Bloomberg.
The Buffett effect
The pre-market action in Moody’s:
The back story here is that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway revealed on Wednesday a lowered holding of 17 per cent in the ratings agency, down from 20 per cent previously.
Buffett adviser raises $2bn
Byron Trott, the former Goldman Sachs banker and frequent financial adviser to Warren Buffett, has raised more than $2bn in capital for his fledging investment firm. The early fundraising successes highlight the cachet accompanying Trott’s role as Buffett’s favourite investment banker.
Holiday weekend catch-up
In case you missed these stories:
- Buffett hits out at stress tests
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett criticised the Obama administration’s stress tests on the 19 largest US banks, a a one-size-fits-all attempt to identify capital shortfalls was inappropriate.
Wells Fargo needs to raise more capital, CNBC says
CNBC reports:
Regulators told Wells Fargo to shore up its finances after government “stress tests” showed the bank would have trouble surviving a deeper recession.
Wells Fargo is one of several banks that regulators will force to hold larger buffers to protect them against possible future losses,
The Sage of Omaha loses some of his sheen
Berkshire Hathaway’s investors should be alarmed at, or at the very least, less than impressed with, the news emanating from the the annual shareholder gathering held over the weekend.
The Buffett faithful who make the yearly pilgrimage to Omaha for the so-called “Woodstock of capitalism”
Buffett to be grilled by investors
Warren Buffett will be under pressure at the annual gathering of shareholders in Berkshire Hathaway, his candies-to-insurance group, to explain his worst year ever, with the usually adoring crowd set to probe the renowned investor on his bargain-hunting strategy and succession plans.
Another sacred cow, slain (or, Fitch downgrades Berkshire Hathaway)
Once upon a time, the merest suggestion that certain entities known as “bond insurers” or “monolines” might be stripped off their triple-A ratings was enough to send markets into a right panic.
Once upon a time,
Rating cut for Buffett’s Berkshire
Billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway had its top-level AAA credit rating cut by Fitch, which cited concern about the potential for losses on the insurer’s equity and derivatives holdings,
For Buffett, yesterday’s fans are today’s snarky critics
There is a slightly snarky (the only word for it) feeling to the deluge of reports and commentary surrounding news that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway suffered its worst year ever in 2008 – even though the results,
Worst year for Buffett’s Berkshire
Warren Buffett has conceded that his holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, turned in its worst performance on record last year. In his annual letter to Berkshire shareholders, Buffett recounted how frozen credit markets dovetailed with tumbling home and stock prices to produce “a paralysing fear that engulfed the country”.
The (Swiss Re) snowball
Warren Buffett knew this was going to happen when he spent CHF3bn on Swiss Re yesterday, right? From Moody’s:
Moody’s Downgrades Swiss Re Ratings (Senior to Aa3); Ratings on Review Down
Short-term ratings of P-1 affirmed.
Swiss Re turns to Buffett
Swiss Re on Thursday turned to Warren Buffett, the renowned US investor, for SFr3bn ($2.6bn) in fresh funding and cut its dividend to virtually zero as it struggled to retain its investment-grade credit rating.
‘I need your bonds, your equity – and your motorcycle’
Warren Buffett’s spending spree appears to be getting ever-more diverse. The latest recipient of Buffett aid is none other than Harley-Davidson, the iconic US motorcycle maker.
According to media reports Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway will pick up half of the firm’s announced $600m bond issue,
Bailing out the bad guys
“Black Barts not black swans”
“Wall Street perpetrated a massive fraud on the American taxpayer.”
“Value-destroying financial meth labs.”
Janet Tavakoli, author of Dear Mr Buffett, is pretty straightforward.
Buffett could quit Constellation battle
Warren Buffett, the US billionaire investor, could bow out of the battle for Constellation Energy after his MidAmerican Energy utility group said it would not try to outbid EDF of France. Constellation’s
EDF tries to scupper Buffett’s energy bid
Warren Buffett’s grip on Constellation Energy appeared less certain Wednesday after EDF, France’s state-controlled energy group, launched a final bid to preserve its strategic position in the US with
Derivatives and the wisdom of the Sage
Poor dear Warren Buffett should have taken his own advice on derivatives, and stayed far away from those so-called financial weapons of mass destruction – because they just may be blowing up in his face.
Buffett talks his book
This is his own book, to be clear – Warren Buffett’s personal investment portfolio, rather than his Berkshire Hathaway holdings, which are pledged to charity.
The Sage of Omaha has taken to the op-ed pages of the New York Times to explain why his portfolio will pretty soon consist purely of US stocks,
Goldman executives restrained from stock sales
Goldman Sachs’ top four executives agreed to hold on to 90% of the stock they own in the company as part of Goldman’s agreement to raise money from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, reports Bloomberg.
GE slips 9% on public offering price
General Electric’s shares slipped 9% after the conglomerate priced its $12.2bn stock sale below Tuesday’s close. The public offering, along with a $3bn preferred share sale to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway,
EDF looks to KKR to trump Buffett on Constellation
EDF, the French electricity and nuclear power group, is nearing a deal with private equity group KKR that it hopes could trump billionaire investor Warren Buffett in his agreed $4.7bn takeover of US-based Constellation Energy.