JPMorgan becomes just seventh bank to cover Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, calling it a screaming buy
Despite Berkshire being the sixth-largest company in the S&P 500 by market cap, there are just seven analysts covering the company, according to FactSet. This compares to the No. 5 most valuable company in the index, Amazon, which has 41 analyst ratings. Wall Street doesn't really bother to cover Buffett because of Berkshire's low relative trading volumes as Street research often gets paid from trading commissions. [...]
The analyst established a year-end 2018 price target of $210 for Berkshire Hathaway B shares, representing 17 percent upside from Wednesday's close. [...]
The analyst also mentioned Berkshire utility executive Greg Abel is currently the "most likely" successor to replace Warren Buffett as CEO of the company. [...]
Buffett Fails in Bid to Boost Stake in Canada's Home Capital
Warren Buffett’s bid to double his stake in Home Capital Group Inc. was rejected by shareholders of the Canadian mortgage lender in a vote Tuesday.
About 89 percent of investors voted against the offer, which would have boosted Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s stake to 38 percent from about 20 percent. Stockholders including CIBC Asset Management had objected to the deal, arguing it would dilute the stock by selling shares to Berkshire at an almost 30 percent discount. [...]
Rocky Mountain Power Invests $3.5 Billion for Wyoming Energy
A long-term view of electrical generation -- not politics or fads -- drives Rocky Mountain Power's decision to invest $3.5 billion in transmission capability, wind power and other infrastructure in Wyoming by 2020, company officials said Friday. [...]
The Salt Lake City-based Rocky Mountain Power is a part of the Portland, Ore.-based PacifiCorp, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. Rocky Mountain Power has nearly 1.1 million customers in Wyoming, Utah and Idaho [...]
Rocky Mountain Power's energy-generating capacity is about 55 percent coal, 25 percent natural gas, 10 percent hydroelectric, and 10 percent wind and other sources [...]
[...] Because of the limited presence of national primary carriers in the homeowners market in Florida, we think the biggest industry impact of large privately insured losses would probably be in reinsurance. Reinsurers have faced weak pricing in recent years due to an overabundance of capital and the rise of the catastrophe bond market. In our view, major catastrophe losses could be a catalyst for an industry shakeup and a return to more normalized pricing conditions. For disciplined and well-capitalized reinsurers such as Berkshire Hathaway, the positive impact on pricing should provide a material long-term offset to the near-term losses.
MindWare, a division of Oriental Trading Co. of La Vista, has acquired Peaceable Kingdom, a company that develops cooperative games and related products, for an undisclosed amount.
Peaceable Kingdom, based in Berkeley, California, was founded in 1983 by the family of Clement Hurd, illustrator of the “Good Night Moon” children’s book. [...]
The company makes games with the goal to “inspire cooperation and cultivate kindness,” including Bunny Bedtime, Mole Rats in Space, Friends and Neighbors, You Guessed It, Say the Word and What’s It? [...]
Warren Buffett's son Howard to become Illinois county sheriff
Howard Buffett, son of billionaire investor Warren Buffett, is adding to his job titles that of interim sheriff of Macon County in central Illinois.
Macon County Sheriff Thomas Schneider said Friday that he is retiring early ahead of an election next fall for his replacement. He has chosen Buffett, whose charitable foundation has contributed more than $55 million in the region over the past two decades, to serve in the meantime.
Howard Buffett has been a Macon County undersheriff since September 2014 and has completed more than 3,300 hours of patrol and training. [...]
The Berkshire Hathaway CEO joined pop music legend Stevie Wonder for a duet at a star-studded gala honoring Forbes magazine at Manhattan's Chelsea Piers on Tuesday.
Wonder and Buffett sang a duet of the classic hit The Glory of Love, a single written by Billy Hill and first recorded by Benny Goodman in 1936. [...]
