Warren Buffett‘s company has sold two short-line railroads it recently discovered it owned to satisfy regulators who might have reviewed Berkshire Hathaway’s 2010 acquisition of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe, LLC (NYSE:BNI) railroad. Berkshire told the Transportation Department’s Surface Transportation Board earlier this month that it had completed the sale of both short-line railroads ahead of schedule. If Berkshire had reported owning those railroads when it bought BNSF, the Surface Transportation Board would have had to scrutinize the deal. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) first disclosed owning the railroads to the Surface Transportation Board in September.
MidAmerican completes 300MW California wind project (NewEnergyWorldNetwork)
MidAmerican Wind, subsidiary of Warren Buffett-owned MidAmerican Renewables, has completed installation of the 300MW Pinyon Pines I and II California project. Developed in two stages known as Alta Wind VII and Alta Wind IX, the facility consists of 100 3MW turbines supplied by Danish manufacturer Vestas. It is supported by a long-term power purchase agreement with Southern California Edison. MidAmerican now has more than 1.25GW of wind plants in operation or under construction.
‘Women Will Save US Economy’, Predicts Billionaire Investor Warren Buffett (BizTechReport)
As fears grow that the United States is preparing to plunge over the ‘fiscal cliff’, billionaire investor Warren Buffett has predicted that women will save the American economy, billionaire investor Warren Buffett has predicted. Buffett, the so-called ‘ Sage of Omaha ‘ said that affording women the same prospects to succeed as men was key to a bright economic future. He said that his is the ‘only thing’ that makes him so optimistic about the future. According to the Telegraph, Buffett’s remarks came during an interview with fellow philanthropist Melinda Gates, with BBC Radio 4.
Billionaire Buffett wrote the book on philantropy (TheRepublic)
I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Tap Dancing to Work, a collection of Fortune writings by and about Warren Buffett that trace the arc of his career from 1966 to the present. Another hat I wear is chairperson of Heritage Fund-The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County, so I was particularly interested to read about Buffett’s philosophy on philanthropy. In June of 2010, Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates announced the Giving Pledge. It was their effort to convince the richest Americans to gift at least 50 percent of their wealth to philanthropy during their lifetimes or at death. Buffett’s letter announcing his pledge is reprinted in full in the book and at www.givingpledge.org.
Warren Buffett’s 4 Tips For Closing The Deal (BusinessInsider)
Small businesses have limited resources and every decision is crucial. You need to know when to jump on an opportunity and when it’s too good to be true. And no one knows how to do this better than uber businessman Warren Buffett. In the book “How To Close A Deal Like Warren Buffett,” authors Tom Searcy and Henry Devries examine Buffett’s decision-making traits to see what he looks for when closing deals. “Warren is famous for doing enormous deals with as little information as a few pages of business plans and the standard financials that a company would submit to a bank in order to qualify for a loan,” Searcy and Devries write, adding that business leaders can use this set of principles and effective strategies to gain “explosive, major growth” for their own businesses. Here are four ways to follow Buffett’s lead when it comes to closing deals for your own company.
BYD China sets eyes on Europe and US with electric bus K9 (RushLane)
China’s battery and electric vehicle company – BYD Co. Ltd is all set to set up a plant in California in 2013 from where they will be producing all electric buses. The exact location is yet to be announced but the Warren Buffett backed company will set the plant in motion during the coming year with a capacity to produce between 50 to 100 all electric buses by 2014. Production capacity will exceed 500 K9 electric buses by 2015. Managerial and other position at the California plant will involve local residents though some parts and production lines will come from China. BYD K9 all electric buses have already passed road tests and are expected to come in with a price tag of $550,000 (Rs 3.01 crores) to $600,000 each. Once they enter US markets, they will be first used by Apple Inc‘s HQ in Cupertino, California, LA International Airport and Stanford University.
Buffett: America’s Seen Worse Problems than Fiscal Cliff (GNom)
Warren Buffett says he’s optimistic the nation’s debt problems will be solved, despite the political fighting that’s threatening to put the country over the “fiscal cliff.” “In the end, 535 people in Washington will not thwart the wishes of 312 million Americans,” Buffet said on BBC Radio 4’s “Today” program. “The United States is richer than it’s ever been. We have $50,000 or so of GDP per person. But we’ve overpromised and we’ve also under taxed to some extent, so we find ourselves with this great fiscal imbalance. But it was man made. We’re a rich country. It can be solved. … We’ll be able to overcome this problem. America has faced a lot tougher problems than this one. We’ll get it solved.”
