While reviewing the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) "advance estimate" of Q4 2009 GDP, it seems instructive to revisit the Q3 2009 "advance estimate" which was discussed here exactly three months ago. A quick review suggests that there is little ...
In the late 1990s, pension funds decided that it would be a good idea to purchase stocks near the peak of the technology bubble. Strike one. In the mid 2000s, the idea was to join the private equity and hedge ...
Standard & Poor’s has announced that Berkshire Hathaway will replace Burlington Northern Santa Fe in both the S&P 100 and S&P 500 indices on a date to be announced. The S&P 500 is a broad based index that is perhaps ...
Over the past week, Warren Buffett has commented on the valuation of Berkshire Hathaway shares and the logic behind issuing shares as currency to pay for part of the Burlington Northern acquisition. Mr. Buffett's statements have helped to answer many ...
It's war on the television screen. On one side you have GEICO's Gecko and the famously maligned Caveman. On the other side is Flo, the hyper enthusiastic Progressive sales clerk. It's hard to escape these characters during sporting events or ...
As we noted last week, the disaster in Haiti has been exacerbated considerably by the fact that the country is virtually uninsured. In response, a number of private insurers have attempted to raise relief funds. Read this article for more ...
Congestion will soon make the Qwest Center inadequate and the only solution may be to relocate the meeting to a larger city with a domed stadium. Then, the Omaha economy will lose all of the benefits of the annual event ...
When President Obama nominated Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to a second term last August, few observers expected anything to derail the confirmation process in the Senate. However, The Wall Street Journal has reported that Mr. Bernanke is rapidly losing ...
Yesterday's article on George Risk Industries generated quite a bit of reader interest but due to the recent removal of the comment and forum features, the questions were not posted directly. This article consolidates the reader questions on George Risk ...
Few publicly traded companies are more obscure than George Risk Industries, a small Nebraska manufacturer of security alarm products. With a market capitalization of $21 million and very low trading volume, the company is far too small to attract attention ...
Home ownership has been a source of savings and wealth for generations of Americans but it is important to realize that renting can make more sense in many situations ...
General Re, a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary, has reached a $92 million settlement with the federal government which will allow the firm to avoid prosecution for its role in an accounting fraud involving AIG. The Wall Street Journal reports that the ...
Longtime shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway know that Warren Buffett hardly ever comments directly on his assessment of the company’s intrinsic value. In an interview with Bloomberg at today’s special meeting of shareholders, Mr. Buffett makes an exception to his usual ...
In a CNBC interview this morning prior to the special meeting of Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, Warren Buffett comments on a number of topics including the Obama Administration's proposed bank tax. Mr. Buffett does not believe that banks are making "obscene ...
In a wide ranging interview with CNBC prior to today’s special meeting of Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, David Sokol comments on prospects for NetJets in 2010, the housing market, climate regulation, and clues regarding the economy based on electricity consumption. Read ...
In the aftermath of the financial crisis, low mortgage rates represented one bright spot in an otherwise dismal housing market. Many were able to refinance at attractive rates ...
Waiting until the last minute to file taxes is a mistake for those who expect to receive tax refunds. There is no reason to give the government an interest free loan! ...
According to a Bloomberg article, Warren Buffett may be interested in increasing Berkshire Hathaway’s stake in Posco, a South Korean steelmaker. Posco cited Mr. Buffett as saying that he “should have bought more Posco shares when the stock price dropped ...
I [Sokol at NetJets] n a recent interview with The Columbus Dispatch, NetJets Chairman and CEO David Sokol predicts that the company will be profitable this year and no further staffing reductions will be required "barring any major shifts in ...
Swiss Re has announced the closing of a U.S. individual life retrocession transaction with Berkshire Hathaway. The transaction transfers the risk associated with a block of yearly renewable term individual life insurance contracts written prior to 2004 to a Berkshire ...