Berkadia Commercial Mortgage LLC, the joint venture of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and Leucadia National Corp., added $2 billion to its loan-servicing portfolio with the purchase of Phoenix-based Keystone Commercial Capital. Keystone, with mortgage-banking offices in Boston and San Diego as well as Phoenix, will continue to be overseen by co-founder and managing partner Charlie Williams, Berkadia said today in a statement. Berkadia picks up 16 employees with the purchase.
Laissez-faire Alberta jolted by free-market paranoia (Globe and Mail)
If there are two things that the free-market energy bastion of Alberta has never been completely comfortable with, they are the free market and energy. That’s become clear again in the wake of Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s $3.2-billion bid for AltaLink LP, the company that operates power lines serving more than four-fifths of the province. The deal has sparked heated debate about foreign ownership of “critical infrastructure” in a place where new transmission projects get embroiled in battles over property rights even when demand drives the grid close to the breaking point.
Dairy Queen Finds a Summer Love: The S’more (NY Times)
A marketer that may be a symbol for those whose sales surge in the summer is the American Dairy Queen Corporation, a division of Berkshire Hathaway that has 6,450 Dairy Queen stores in 27 countries. A campaign to begin on Tuesday for the American market, where Dairy Queen has about 4,800 restaurants, has one goal: to make those few summer days count at the cash register. [...] According to Kantar Media, a unit of WPP, Dairy Queen spent $76.8 million on advertising last year. That was an increase from the $67.3 million spent in 2012 and just less than the $77 million spent in 2011. Dairy Queen will increase its spending this year, Mr. Westrum said.
The Dairy Queen System’s First-Ever Manhattan Location Opens Today (Marketwatch)
As of today, Manhattan residents and visitors will now have America’s most iconic treats right around the corner as the Dairy Queen® system, part of Berkshire Hathaway , opens the first-ever DQ Grill & Chill® restaurant in Manhattan. [...] Located at 54 West 14th St. between 5th and 6th Avenues [...] The Manhattan location is the only two-story DQ Grill & Chill restaurant in the country.
MiTek launches new roof design software in the UK & Ireland (Specification Online)
MiTek Industries Ltd, a Berkshire Hathaway company and the world’s leading supplier of connector products, software, equipment and services for the pre-fabricated roof truss and metal web joist market, has announced the UK and Irish launch of its new roof design software Pamir. [...] "The software has been ten years in development, comprises of more than 760,000 lines of code and has taken 130 man years of work to complete. The result is software that delivers the modern truss manufacturer quicker estimating capabilities, quicker roof editing tools and a more integrated software environment. [...]
Clayton Homes Unveils Newest Features for Tech-Savvy Homeowners (Digital Journal / PRWeb)
With tablets, smartphones and smart appliances becoming prominent features of American lifestyles, Clayton Homes, the nation's largest home builder*, is now unveiling several innovative amenities to its customers. Earlier this month, Clayton Homes presented its new Gen-Now Concept Home at the annual Berkshire-Hathaway Meeting to Warren Buffett and shareholders. The home was technologically integrated with devices and appliances on the cutting edge of technology, and many of those features will be available in other Clayton Homes models.
Buffett has advice for your kids (BusinessTech)
"Not everybody’s going to be an entrepreneur, but everybody should be financially literate. Financial literacy is a base requirement like spelling or reading or something of the sort that everybody should acquire at any early age. The financial habits you develop when you are young are going to go with you into your adulthood. But you can’t be an entrepreneur unless you’re financially literate."
Warren Buffett's older sister works one-on-one to help (CBS Money Watch)
When Warren Buffett announced in 2006 that he would give away his billions, he was flooded with individual requests for help that still flow in today. Instead of tossing the letters aside, Buffett packages them up and sends them to his big sister Doris. With the help of seven women, her Sunshine Lady Foundation scrutinizes each request to find people who have come upon bad luck through no fault of their own.
