INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
By Katherine ChiglinskyWarren Buffett tends to rejoice when he sees a company buying back underpriced shares
At his own Berkshire Hathaway Inc., which underperformed the stock market last year by the widest margin in a decade, an increase in
Its last big takeover, a $37.2 billion deal for Precision Castparts Corp., was more than three years ago
This year, the conglomerate was outbid for a tech company
analyst at Edward Jones, said in an interview
Berkshire reportedly passed on Tiffany - Co
but did make an offer for Tech Data Corp., ultimately losing out to private equity firm Apollo Global Management Inc.
The Omaha,
Nebraska-based conglomerate also spent the last few months of the year plowing money into stocks new to its portfolio, taking stakes in
Operating earnings probably rose in the last three months of 2019 from a year earlier, according to Meyer Shields, an analyst at Keefe,
S-P 500 Index notched its biggest gain since 2013
annual meeting of his Daily Journal Corp
announcement of 4Q earnings are unlikely, in our view
Palazola, senior analyst
While the Oracle of Omaha may address the frustrations of dealmaking and investing in 2019, Buffett often uses the
letter as a platform to delve into a wider range of issues too, including the economy, politics and investment fees.
Here are some other
topics that might come up in the letter:Kraft HeinzOver the past year, a massive writedown, management changes and a regulatory probe at the
packaged-food giant caused turmoil for Berkshire, its biggest shareholder
More recently, Kraft Heinz was downgraded to junk by some credit-rating companies, which has weighed on its stock.
Following a delay related
billion more than the market price at the time
tight corporate staff, with just 26 employees in the office, so any reshuffling of duties tends to attract investor attention
Late last year, Berkshire named Todd Combs, who helps Buffett oversee investments, to run auto insurer Geico, in addition to his role
managing at least $14 billion in stocks
about auto insurance so the appointment made sense, according to Munger
The auto insurer will increasingly need to figure out how to navigate changing technology, such as artificial intelligence for underwriting,
Munger said.
Geico has also been facing pressure from rivals including Progressive, which sparked a question from a shareholder at last
year, building out capabilities long championed by Progressive and Allstate Corp
questions about succession for the 89-year-old CEO and his 96-year-old business partner Munger
In 2018, Berkshire appointed two key lieutenants, Jain and Greg Abel, to its board, promotions that Buffett said at the time were movements
Candies and apparel brands Fruit of the Loom and Brooks Sports.
PoliticsBuffett has been carefully navigating the increasingly bifurcated
political climate in recent years
carefully worded section on how U.S
prosperity has been achieved in a bipartisan manner
