Berkshire News Briefs - 3/10/14

Several members of the Berkshire Hathaway Leadership team went on CNBC Monday morning. Warren Buffett, Ted Weschler, Todd Combs, and Tracy Britt Cool were all there. CNBC posted the transcript in this PDF. There's some good info in there, especially in the second half when they start talking to Ted and Todd. I like this bit, in reference to my reading backlog...

BECKY QUICK: [...] We are here in Omaha because-- Berkshire Hathaway's annual letter-- Warren Buffett's annual letter to the shareholders went out on Saturday morning. And, Warren, we've spent some time digesting-- a large annual letter.

WARREN BUFFETT: I get paid by the word.

25 Must-Read Quotes from Warren Buffett's Letter to Shareholders (Fool)

"Forming macro opinions or listening to the macro or market predictions of others is a waste of time. Indeed, it is dangerous because it may blur your vision of the facts that are truly important. (When I hear TV commentators glibly opine on what the market will do next, I am reminded of Mickey Mantle's scathing comment: "You don't know how easy this game is until you get into that broadcasting booth.")

Berkshire Hathaway buys AA Party Rentals (The Herald of Everett WA)

I do so love these little tuck-in acquisitions.

AA Party Rentals with locations in Mountlake Terrace and Tacoma was acquired by nationwide events company CORT in a deal anounced Thursday. AA Party Rentals has been providing rental equipment and services in the greater Seattle and Tacoma markets for more than 40 years. [...] CORT is a Berkshire Hathaway company.

Buffett’s Berkshire Reaches $300 Billion Market Cap (WSJ)

Warren Buffett didn’t grow Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s net worth faster than gains in the S&P 500 index over the last five years, but the gigantic conglomerate recently crossed another milestone: passing the $300 billion mark in market capitalization for the first time. [...] Berkshire is already among the top 10 largest U.S. companies by market capitalization, and in recent years, has made the top-five list often. At $300 billion, its position among America’s most-valuable companies doesn’t change much. On Friday afternoon, Apple topped the list with $475 billion; followed by Google with $409 billion, Exxon Mobil close on its heels with $405 billion; Microsoft at fourth place, and ahead of Berkshire, at $316 billion.

The Best Warren Buffett Coverage You Haven't Read (Fool)

A link to more links!

For value investing disciples around the world, the annual release of the Berkshire Hathaway Letter to Shareholders is an interesting mix of fanaticism, jubilation, conversation, and conjecture. For those of us who just can't get enough, here are three reads you probably haven't seen that are interesting and uniquely insightful into the Oracle of Omaha's mind.

Here's Why Warren Buffett Is Betting Big on Renewable Energy (Fool)

Buffett's success is also his ability to acknowledge that sometimes things do change and that new competitive advantages can and must be built. MidAmerican Energy has been doing just that for the past nine years, working with companies like Siemens, SunPower, and Vestas to add renewable energy to its mix in a big way. Renewables are becoming a huge -- and growing -- part of Berkshire's competitive advantage at MidAmerican.

Brokerages to Join the New Real Estate Network During 2014's Second and Third Quarters (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, the new real estate brokerage network operated by HSF Affiliates LLC, today announced the signing of 22 additional affiliates to the network. Several signees come from Prudential Real Estate’s Gibraltar Circle of Top 50 brokerages based on overall production. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices now accounts for more than 26,000 agents and 700 offices in 33 states since it began transitioning affiliates in September.

Canada Tomato Law Saves Former Heinz Plant From Buffett Closing (MoneyNews)

A bit unfair to call this a "Buffett Closing"...

Canada’s insistence that tomato juice be extracted from “sound, ripe, whole” tomatoes instead of paste — a higher standard than in the U.S. — has partially saved an H.J. Heinz Co. plant marked for closing by Warren Buffett’s private-equity partner. A group of Ontario investors announced last week they plan to run the century-old plant and take over producing and distributing tomato juice for Heinz in the Canadian market. The move spared 250 of the 740 workers slated to lose their jobs in Leamington, Ontario, widely known as the tomato capital of Canada.

Berkshire spends $77 million to add to DaVita stake (NASDAQ)

Berkshire Hathaway is still buying up shares of DaVita. Most recently, Warren Buffett's firm bought 1,159,858 shares of the company's common stock on Feb. 24 for $66.58 per share. All told, Berkshire paid $77,679,440 to increase its holdings by 3.2%.

Berkshire News Briefs - 1/19/14

Upstart Managers School Sage of Omaha (Wall Street Journal)

Two investment managers, hired by the 83-year-old billionaire in recent years as part of his succession plan, each posted returns last year that outdid both Mr. Buffett's performance as Berkshire's top stock picker and the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index, according to people familiar with the matter. The 2013 returns mark the second year in a row that the two men beat the broader market gauge, which gained 32% including dividends last year, as well as their boss. [...] The younger managers' strong performance is further proof that Mr. Buffett "hit the jackpot" with their hires, as he said in his last letter. The 83-year-old billionaire investor hired Todd Combs and Ted Weschler to eventually manage all of Berkshire's investments once he is no longer at the helm, although he has no plans to step down.

The Tiny Companies Making Warren Buffett Billions (Fool Video)

Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett have purchased droves of smaller businesses over the years and brought them under the Berkshire-umbrella. As Berkshire Hathaway continues to transform into a collection of operating businesses, how should investors view this "Other" segment?

Speaking of those tiny companies making billions... Berkshire Hathaway acquired Utah-based R.C. Willey Home Furnishings in 1995.

Bill Child built a company that Warren Buffett wanted to buy (4-Traders)

Just like many of Utah's successful businesses, R.C. Willey Home Furnishings started as a part-time sideline. Rufus Call Willey, a lineman for Utah Power, began selling Hotpoint brand appliances door-to-door in 1932 in rural Syracuse, a tiny town in Davis County. [...] In 1950, Willey built his first tiny store next door to his house in Syracuse, having operated out of the back of his little red pickup truck until then. When he died unexpectedly in 1954, son-in-law Bill Child, recently graduated from college with a degree in education, was asked to take over the business. Based on a loyal customer base and a good reputation, Child said, "OK."

Cannon Equipment acquired by Berkshire Hathaway's Marmon (Cannon Falls Beacon)

This was one small part of the bigger IMI acquisition that was announced in December.

Cannon Equipment [...] officially became part of billionaire Warren Buffetts's empire on January 1. The Marmon Group, headquartered in Chicago, a division of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway company, officially acquired Cannon Equipment as of the start of 2014. [...] Cannon Equipment traces its roots to Point-of-Sales, founded in Cannon Falls by Howard "Speed" Fredrickson in 1966. IMI Corp., out of the United Kingdom, bought the company in 1981. It sold Cannon Equipment and some other similar companies it owned to Marmon for $1.1 billion in cash. Cannon Equipment specializes in design and manufacture of material handling carts, cages, racks and automation equipment used in retail dairy and newspaper sales.

Marmon Highway Technologies Introduces Fontaine Intermodal (Trucking Info)

Fontaine Engineered Products, Inc., a Marmon Highway Technologies/Berkshire Hathaway company, recently established a stand-alone division – Fontaine Intermodal – to design and produce innovative products for the growing intermodal transportation market. Fontaine Intermodal operates a dedicated facility in Jasper, Ala., where it produces the Fontaine Evolution Intermodal Flat Deck product.

Mass. mill that started Buffett's empire razed (Yahoo/AP)

The Massachusetts textile mill that helped billionaire Warren Buffett launch his investment empire, but which he also called one of his biggest blunders, is being torn down. Roland Letendre, the current owner of the Berkshire Hathaway mill in New Bedford, started demolishing the structure on Monday after efforts to sell the property failed. The mill, built in 1927, had been on the market with an asking price of $500,000, but it needs about $1 million in repairs, Letendre said. [...] Buffett, then an ambitious 34-year-old investor, acquired control of the textile manufacturer in 1965. Overwhelmed by foreign competition, Buffett closed the mill in 1985 and sold the complex in 2000 to Letendre for $215,000.

NextEra Energy Fires Up 20 MW Solar Farm (Fool)

NextEra Energy announced today that it has begun commercial operation of its 20 MW Mountain View Solar Energy Project located in North Las Vegas. The latest addition to NextEra Energy's renewable energy portfolio, Mountain View's 84,000 photovoltaic solar panels will push power to Berkshire Hathaway-owned NV Energy.

What's the Difference Between Berkshire Hathaway Class A and B Shares? (Fool Video)

Berkshire Hathaway is known for a lot of things. Its Chairman and CEO, Warren Buffett, its successful track record, and of course, its expensive Class A share price. In this segment of The Motley Fool's financials-focused show, Where the Money Is , banking analysts Matt Koppenheffer and David Hanson take a question from their mailbag regarding the the Class A and Class B shares for Berkshire Hathaway.

8 Hilarious Warren Buffett Insights From the Ronald Reagan Era (Fool)

A lot has changed since 1984: Ronald Reagan isn't president, gas costs well more than a dollar per gallon, and Apple personal computers look considerably different. But, if just one thing hasn't changed in 30 years, it's Warren Buffett's letter to Berkshire Hathaway's shareholders. Every year, the letter is chock-full of investing insight and witty commentary. Here are eight of Buffett's best lines from 30 years ago. [...] "Our experience has been [big ideas] pop up occasionally. (How's that for a strategic plan?)"