Warren Buffett News: Signed Deal, Wells Fargo & Co (WFC)’s Venture & Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A)

Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A), Burlington Northern Santa Fe, LLC (NYSE:BNI), Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC)

Berkshire Hathaway Inc.Buffett’s Berkshire Reinsures Irish State Health Claims as Population Ages (InsuranceJournal)
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) will reinsure about €700 million ($930 million) in claims for Ireland’s state health insurer, which is seeking to stem losses and its burden on taxpayers, as the population ages. Vhi Healthcare and Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) signed a deal for one year, which Vhi will seek to extend, Brighid Smyth, a spokeswoman for the Dublin-based insurer, said by phone. She declined to give terms of the agreement, which will cover half of Vhi’s €1.4 billion [$1.86 billion] claim book.

Candy date with Warren Buffett up for auction (CBSNews)
Investors flock to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) meetings to hear what its wildly successful CEO Warren Buffett has to say. Now one lucky bidder can spend the day picking the brains of the fourth richest man in the world. The magnate is putting himself on the auction block Thursday to benefit Communities in Schools of Los Angeles (CIS), a charity that focuses on keeping kids in school. Using a website called Charitybuzz.com, Buffett joins the likes of Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, actor Matthew McConaughey and actress Reese Witherspoon in raising funds for the organization.

Charlie Munger: The Other Guy Behind Warren Buffett’s Success (DailyFinance)
Investors around the world respect and admire the success that Warren Buffett has had in growing Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) into the investing colossus it has become. But while it’s Buffett who has become a household name, his lesser-known vice-chairman at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) has an equally impressive record of performance. Charlie Munger has worked alongside Buffett for decades, but he’s also a successful investor in his own right. Most recently, as the chairman of Daily Journal Corp. (DJCO), Munger helped it avoid the financial difficulties that so many of its print media peers have faced:…

Buffett says coal’s decline in U.S. to be gradual, yet permanent (IBJ)
Coal use in the United States will continue to fall, though the slide will be gradual as electric utilities switch to cleaner alternatives over “years and years,” billionaire Warren Buffett said at an event in Carmel this week. “Coal will gradually decline in importance, and of course when natural gas prices get low enough, you have a big switch over,” Buffett said July 22, according to a recording posted online by WFYI-FM, a public radio station in Indianapolis.

Bill Gates And Me: The Myth Of Corporate ‘Give-Back’ (Forbes)
I am thrilled that Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are busily giving away their wealth through charity. It is especially laudable that they are giving it away before they die rather than set up perpetual foundations as monuments. But despite these feelings, I take issue with those who feel that Gates has a moral obligation to “give-back.” It’s as if he stole his wealth and now must humbly make restitution for his crimes through charity. Bill Gates and many entrepreneurs like him often help their fellow man far more through their business success than they can through charity, and I am a living case study for my argument.

Berkshire Allowed to Count BNSF Purchase Costs in Rail Rates (BusinessWeek)
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) can count the $8.1 billion premium it paid to acquire Burlington Northern Santa Fe, LLC (NYSE:BNI) in the formula used to calculate prices for some shippers, a decision that may make it harder for some rail customers to challenge their rates. The U.S. Surface Transportation Board, which regulates some rail rates, today ruled that Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) may count the premium from its 2009 purchase of Burlington Northern Santa Fe, LLC (NYSE:BNI) by spreading those costs over seven years.

Berkshire Home Broker to Take Wells Fargo’s Stake in Venture (BusinessWeek)
HomeServices of America Inc., the real estate brokerage unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A), agreed to take over Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC)’s stake in a mortgage-lending business they own together. HomeServices Lending LLC will become a wholly owned subsidiary of HomeServices of America by the end of 2014, the unit of Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) said today in a statement that didn’t disclose terms.