Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A), Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA (NYSE:PBR)
Billionaire Warren Buffett is spending his day listening to business pitches from a select group of kids, but the ideas aren’t likely to generate new acquisitions for Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A). The kids, who are between 7- and 16-years-old, are all finalists in an online contest tied to Buffett’s “The Secret Millionaire’s Club” cartoon. Buffett voices his own character to teach financial lessons in the cartoon. Five individuals and three teams were flown to Omaha to present their ideas to Buffett and a panel of judges on Monday. The grand prize winners will receive $5,000. The runners up will receive $500 prizes. The contest is sponsored by the Fairholme Foundation and overseen by the By Kids For Kids Co.
How Buffett Has Changed Through the Years (Fool)
One of the benefits of attending the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) shareholders’ meeting is learning from the great value investors and Buffettologists who also make the yearly trek to Omaha. In this multipart series, Fool analyst Rex Moore speaks with Lawrence Cunningham, author of The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America. The book offers a unique approach by arranging all of Buffett’s shareholder letters thematically, rather than chronologically. Today, Professor Cunningham explains the major difference in how Buffett invests now compared to early in his career.
Stocks Riskier Than Bonds? Not if You Think Like Buffett (Forbes)
“The riskiness of an investment is not measured by beta…but rather by the probability…of that investment causing its owner a loss of purchasing power of his contemplated holding period. Assets can fluctuate greatly in price and not be risky as long as they are reasonably certain to deliver increased purchasing over the holding period. And… a non- fluctuation asset can be laden with risk.” Warren Buffett (2012) Some of the latest research[i] by Javier Estrada, professor of financial management at IESE Business School, challenges conventional thinking about the relative risk of stocks and bonds.
Omens From Pimco’s Bill Gross to Warren Buffett Disregarded as Bond Sales Soar (MoneyNews)
Sales of corporate bonds in the U.S. are surging toward the busiest May ever as borrowers race to the market before demand dries up with Bill Gross and Warren Buffett cautioning against buying debt at all-time low yields. Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA (NYSE:PBR)‘s $11 billion deal, the biggest on record for an emerging markets issuer, leads sales this month of $120.2 billion, on pace to exceed the unprecedented $162.6 billion sold in May 2008, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Issuance has already eclipsed the $108.2 billion sold in all of May 2012.
Buffettising friends is part of the star investor’s brand (SCMP)
Given his cult-like following, critiquing Warren Buffett’s investment approach takes a pinch of courage and a pound of stupidity. But that has never stopped me before … and it is a good time to look at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A), given that it held its annual general meeting earlier this month. And what a stunt he pulled – just when you thought he could do no more to thrill his acolytes and expand his fan club. I’ll get to that later. Let’s start with an oh-so-basic review of his secret sauce. In my mind, he has cooked up a combination of two powerful ingredients that trump all else in generating his outstanding track record: brand and concentration.
Lessons in estate planning from Warren Buffett (TheGlobeAndMail)
I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting Marvin Blum. But if I ever do, I’d like to shake his hand. Mr. Blum is a tax and estate lawyer from Fort Worth, Tex. On May 5, at the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) annual general meeting, Mr. Blum asked Warren Buffett a question about estate planning. I thought it was the best question of the weekend. The focus of the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) AGM is usually the economy, investing, and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A)’s many businesses. There are inevitably questions about Mr. Buffett’s succession plans. But Mr. Blum’s question stood out, because it was much more personal.
Picking at the Buffett (BangkokPost)
Wherever she goes, people come up with similar questions: “What have you learned from Warren Buffett?” or “What is the key to Warren’s success?” If not, then she is quizzed for stock-picking tips and investment trends, all according to the business magnate’s philosophy. Yet Mary is her own person, a woman with entrepreneurial spirit. Born and raised as part of an Italian immigrant family in Chicago, Mary has always been into business. Mary gives credit for her can-do attitude to her mother, who instilled in her a sense of self belief. Her mother usually told her: “Do not think that you cannot do anything.”
Hong Kong launches first electric taxis (Brecorder)
Hong Kong saw its first electric taxis hit the streets on Saturday in a step towards reducing the city’s high levels of roadside pollution. The 45 bright red cars were launched by Chinese electric vehicle producer BYD, which is partly backed by US investment titan Warren Buffett. Called the BYD e6, the five-door crossover sedans are powered by iron phosphate batteries and take two hours to charge, a statement from BYD said, adding that they can then travel for 300 kilometres (more than 180 miles). The cars have been rented by the Hong Kong Taxi and Public Light Bus Association, which is testing them over the next six months. “The idea of being environmentally friendly is a global trend and the electric car is one good example,” said Wong Chung Keung, president and chairman of the association.
