Editor’s Note: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B), Suncor Energy Inc. (USA) (NYSE:SU), The Washington Post Company (NYSE:WPO), Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), DISH Network Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH), Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC)
Buffett Acolyte Returns to China Stocks for More Than 20% Gains (Bloomberg)
Zhao Danyang, the Chinese investor who won a charity lunch with billionaire Warren Buffett in 2008, led his hedge funds to post returns three times more than their Asian peers this year by shifting assets back to Chinese stocks. Zhao’s Hong Kong-based Pureheart Capital Asia Ltd. has more than 80 percent of its $217 million in Chinese stocks traded in Hong Kong, Singapore, the U.S. and at home from 50 percent at the start of 2013, said Jerrie Huang, its business development manager. The $162 million Pure Heart Value Investment Fund returned 24 percent this year through July, Huang said. The Eurekahedge Asian Hedge Fund Index rose 8 percent in the first seven months.
Buffett Adding Wells Fargo Sets Bank Apart at Berkshire (Bloomberg)
Billionaire Warren Buffett’s accumulation of Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) stock is making the lender stand out among Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s largest holdings. Buffett added shares of the bank for the ninth straight quarter, bringing Berkshire’s total investment to almost $20 billion, according to a regulatory filing today. The stake is the largest holding in a portfolio that includes about $15.6 billion of Coca-Cola Co., $11.4 billion of American Express Co. (AXP) and $12.7 billion in International Business Machines Corp. (IBM)
The 1975 Buffett memo that saved WaPo’s pension (Fortune)
One of the (many) things that surprised people about the recent $250 million sale of The Washington Post Company (NYSE:WPO) to Amazon (AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos was the health of the Washington Post’s pension plan. At a time when most pension plans are struggling, the Post has $1 billion more than it needs. (As part of the deal, Bezos is getting $333 million for the new newspaper company’s pension fund, which The Washington Post Company (NYSE:WPO) chairman Don Graham says is $50 million more than Bezos needs to meet his current obligations.) Graham told Fortune there are two words that explain why: Warren Buffett. In October 1975, Buffett sent The Washington Post’s (WPO) then chairman and CEO Katharine Graham a memo about the brewing problems in pension plans, and Buffett’s suggestions for how the The Washington Post Company (NYSE:WPO) could avoid them. Graham took Buffett’s advice, and the rest … you know.
Smart money’s latest bets (CNBC)
Buffett’s Berkshire dumps Gannett, buys Dish Network (CNN)
Warren Buffett’s investment firm Berkshire Hathaway dumped its shares of newspaper giant Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI) according to SEC documents, and took a new position in DISH Network Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH). In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Berkshire Hathaway said it held no shares of Gannett Company Inc. in the second quarter, which ended June 30. In the first quarter it held 1.7 million shares of Gannett worth about $38 million.
Buffett bets on Suncor and oil sands (Globe and Mail)
Warren Buffett has finally deployed a sliver of his immense wealth into Canada, registering a vote of confidence in the future of the resource sector. The head of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B) and one of the world’s foremost investors, Mr. Buffett revealed in a U.S. regulatory filing that he has accumulated a stake of 17.8-million shares in Suncor Energy Inc. (USA) (NYSE:SU), Canada’s biggest oil and gas producer. His investment is worth $620-million at the current share price.
Buffett-inspired Canadian portfolio gets boost from MTY Food (Globe and Mail)
We used Validea Canada’s “Patient Investor” screen, which is based on the book Buffettology by Mr. Buffett’s former daughter-in-law, Mary Buffett. Globe Investor has a joint venture with Validea.ca, a premium Canadian stock screen service. The 11 stocks in the portfolio are those that scored highest as of May 23, 2012, based on the book’s interpretation of Mr. Buffett’s strategy. We “invested” $10,000 in each stock. From May 23, 2012, through Aug. 14, 2013, nine of the 11 stocks rose, led by an 85.2-per-cent advance for quick-service restaurant franchisor MTY Food Group, the company behind such brands as Mr. Sub, Country Style and Cultures. Over all, the portfolio gained 25.1 per cent (excluding dividends).
