Berkshire News Briefs - 4/29/14

Also coming up, a second post of Berkshire Subsidiary Briefs with all the subsidiary news that would have made this post even longer!

Nuggets of Corporate Governance Wisdom From Charlie Munger (WSJ)

In the continuing Age of Activism, corporate advisers and theorists spend much time talking about corporate governance best-practices. They’d all be out of a job if Charlie Munger had his way. That’s the premise of a recent paper from the Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University. The paper highlights several nuggets of corporate-governance wisdom from the famed right-hand man of Warren Buffett. Something like a folksy book of quips, advice and motivational coffee mugs, it boils down to simplicity and trust.

Buffett Can’t Find Bear for Berkshire Annual Meeting (WSJ)

It’s hard to find someone who wants to go on record betting against Warren Buffett. Despite a very public cattle call for people who are short on his Berkshire Hathaway Inc.BRKB +0.62%, Mr. Buffett was unable to find a bearish analyst or investor to invite to his company’s annual meeting on May 3. Instead, Berkshire has invited Morningstar analyst Greggory Warren to be the third questioner on a panel of analysts, along with Jay Gelb of BarclaysBARC.LN +0.50% and Jonathan Brandt of Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb.

7 Things We Can Learn From Warren Buffett’s Biggest Money Mistakes (Fool)

The Motley Fool is counting down the days until the annual meeting with a story a day. This entry for day 7 of the countdown was the best of the lot so far:

As chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett has an excellent investing record. But his record isn't without imperfection. Mistakes happen, even when you're the best at what you do. Fortunately, these mistakes, and Buffett's commentary about his investment decisions, provide us with valuable study materials in the school of investing. Here are seven of Buffett's biggest blunders, and the lessons that we can learn from his mistakes: [...]

Warren Buffett: Stocks aren't 'too frothy' now (CNBC)

A summary of some of the important points from Buffett's interview on CNBC last week, including his abstention from voting on Coca Cola's compensation plan, whether or not we're in a new tech bubble, and how he feels about IBM these days.

Warren Buffett rejected the suggestion the U.S. stock market is "too frothy" right now as the major indexes re-approach their all-time highs. "I think we're in a range, and it's a big zone always, of reasonableness. But stocks ought to be higher every 10 years.There's a plow back of earnings that goes back year after year. Stocks will become worth more decade after decade, not in any precise manner, not in an even manner or anything of the sort. But 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, stocks will be worth more than they are today."

Buffett: Coke exec compensation plan was excessive (Fortune/CNN)

Warren Buffett called Coca-Cola's controversial compensation plan excessive, but said he declined to vote against it. The plan -- which will pay Coke managers generously with shares of the company if they achieve specific performance goals -- passed on Wednesday at Coke's annual meeting, but without Buffett's help. Buffett said he abstained in the vote. Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett's insurance conglomerate, is one of the largest owners of Coke's stock, with a little over 9% of the company's shares. The fact that Buffett didn't vote against Coke's plan, though, is noteworthy.

Buffett: moving oil by rail safely major industry concern (Reuters)

Warren Buffett, chairman of conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, said on Wednesday that safety is a major priority for the rail industry, after a recent spate of accidents raised concerns about how to transport oil safely. "I can tell you that's all they're thinking about," the investor said in an interview with Reuters. "We're going to move a lot of crude in this country, and we have to learn how to do it very safely," he added. He added that the delay in the construction of the Keystone pipeline was unlikely to prompt additional purchases of tank cars at Berkshire railroad unit BNSF.

Christian Brothers doesn't want Buffett on Berkshire Hathaway's board (Pensions & Investments)

Good luck with that...

Christian Brothers Investment Services is opposing the election of all Berkshire Hathaway Inc. directors, including Warren E. Buffett, chairman and CEO, according to the proxy-voting disclosure of the manager of managers whose clients are Catholic institutions. CBIS is withholding its votes for the directors “due to a lack of information on diversity of the composition of the board” and insufficient background about the directors, even lacking photographs of them, said Marietta L. Parenti, CBIS spokeswoman.