Warren Buffett's firm invests in the biggest homebuilders while reducing GM stake in portfolio moves
Warren Buffettโs company appears to be betting on the housing market picking up because Berkshire Hathaway bought more than $700 million worth of homebuilder DR Hortonโs stock this spring along with smaller stakes in fellow builders Lennar Corp. and NVR Corp. Berkshire revealed those new investments Monday in a quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that shows the conglomerateโs holdings as of the end of June.
Warren Buffett has given $50.7 billion toward historic pledges to the Gates Foundation and others
After 17 years of steady payments, Warren Buffett has to date given annual donations totaling $50.7 billion toward his historic multibillion-dollar pledges to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and to four foundations connected to his family, according to a Chronicle tally.
Engineers frustrated with rails even as others get sick time
Tens of thousands of engineers remain frustrated with the lack of paid sick time and the demands railroads like BNSF are making in negotiations despite the progress that has been made this year with sick time deals for most of the other rail unions.
Buffett says people shouldn't worry about Berkshire, banks
Billionaire Warren Buffett assured investors Wednesday that Berkshire Hathaway will be fine when he's no longer around to lead the conglomerate because Vice Chairman Greg Abel will do a great job and the conglomerate's basic model won't change.
Bill Gates joins 26 newcomers on list of 50 biggest donors
As the ranks of Americaโs super wealthy grow, the roster of major philanthropists is expanding to include not-so-typical megadonors โ among them, a professional clarinetist, a Ph.D. in meat science, and a lawyer who regularly argues before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Profit plummets at Buffett's company on investment gains
Warren Buffettโs company reported a third-quarter profit that was roughly one-third the amount of last yearโs profit because of much smaller paper gains on the value of its investments, but most of its businesses were continuing to recover from the effects of the pandemic.
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Leak of billionaires' tax data draws GOP outcry over privacy
Republicans in Congress are alarmed by the leak of confidential IRS data to ProPublica that has enabled the investigative news organization to reveal that famous billionaires including Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg paid little in U.S. income tax at times.
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Warren Buffett's fortune tops $100B as his stock soars
FILE - In this May 5, 2019, file photo Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, speaks during a game of bridge following the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha, Neb. Investor Buffett's fortune surged above $100 billion Wednesday, March 10, 2021, when shares of his company hit a record high at over $400,000 apiece. โ Investor Warren Buffett's fortune surged above $100 billion Wednesday when shares of his company hit a record high at over $400,000 apiece. Buffett's fortune, which is mostly tied to his ownership of 248,734 Class A shares, topped $101 billion at the stock's peak Wednesday. Amazon's Jeff Bezos is listed as the world's richest man with a $179.6 billion fortune.
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Warren Buffett again encourages investors to bet on America
FILE - In this May 5, 2019, file photo Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, speaks during a game of bridge following the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha, Neb. Buffett is encouraging investors to maintain their faith in Americas economy and the businesses his Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate owns. โ Billionaire Warren Buffett encouraged investors to maintain their faith in America's economy and the businesses his Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate owns in a reassuring letter to his shareholders Saturday. Buffett hardly even addressed the coronavirus that ravaged many businesses last year, instead focusing on the long-term prospects for the railroad, utility and insurance businesses and stocks that belong to Berkshire Hathaway. Buffett said one of his biggest investments last year was the $25 billion repurchase of Berkshire's own shares.
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Game on, again: GameStop surges and no one truly knows why
After weeks of going dormant, shares of GameStop have suddenly shot higher again, rising 18.6% Thursday after surging 75% in the last hour of trading Wednesday. After short-selling funds got badly burned by last month's sudden surge, many fewer GameStop shares are being sold short now. A day after testifying in a Congressional hearing about GameStop last week, he indicated he added another 50,000 shares after Feb. 3, doubling his GameStop stock position. On Wednesday, an hour or so before GameStop shares spiked, Cohen tweeted a photo of an ice cream cone from McDonaldโs, along with an emoji of a frog. Even so, GameStop shares changed hands more times by midday Thursday than for Apple, a company with a market value nearly 180 times the size of GameStop.
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Buffett's right-hand man says US stock market is overvalued
Investor Warren Buffetts right-hand man, Munger, says the U.S. stock market is overvalued, but he doesnt know when the bubble will burst. Munger said Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021, that the recent frenzy over GameStops stock was driven by small investors gambling on the stock market. โ Investor Warren Buffett's right-hand man says the U.S. stock market is overvalued, but he doesn't know when the bubble will burst. Munger said the recent frenzy over GameStop's stock was driven by small investors gambling on the stock market. If you have unrealistic expectations, youโre going to be miserable all your life,โ Munger said.
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Investing ABCs: Teaching your kids about money and markets
The Associated Press talked to a few parents and financial experts for their tips, and included in their advice was teaching kids early on about money, keeping the discussions simple but interesting and letting kids practice investing. KEEP IT SIMPLEParents should make sure kids understand money basics before they try to conquer investing. Kids need to understand what stocks are, why people invest and how the markets work before they can understand investing. AdThere are plenty of good resources โ websites, apps, books โ available to help guide the way in talking with kids about money and investing (or to help bolster parents' own knowledge). Parents can also help kids identify companies they are interested in and track them using fictitious money just for fun.
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Asia stocks follow Wall St. down after weaker US jobs data
(AP Photo/John Minchillo)BANGKOK โ Asian stock markets followed Wall Street lower on Friday after disappointing U.S. jobs and economic data. Overnight, Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index lost 0.4% for its third straight daily decline. AdThe Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.9% to 3,641.63 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo sank 1% to 29,947.42. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell to 3,913.97. Congress is conducting a hearing on the recent volatility of companies caught in a tug-of-war between Wall Street institutional investors betting against the companies and the online retail investors who pushed shares higher.
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Buffett's firm reveals new investments in Verizon, Chevron
Buffetts company made major new investments in Verizon and Chevron and again trimmed its huge stake in Apple while making several other adjustments to its stock portfolio in 2020. โ Warren Buffett's company made major new investments in Verizon and Chevron and again trimmed its huge stake in Apple while making several other adjustments to its stock portfolio last year. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said in regulatory filings Tuesday that it bought $8.6 billion worth of Verizon stock and picked up $4.1 billion worth of Chevron shares over the last six months of 2020. AdIn addition to those large new investments, Berkshire also revealed a new stake in professional services firm Marsh & McLennan that's worth roughly $499 million. In addition to the three new investments, Berkshire also added to its relatively new holdings in drugmakers Bristol Myers Squibb, Abbvie and Merck.
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Oxfam urges radical economic rejig for post-COVID world
(AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)LONDON โ Anti-poverty organization Oxfam warned Monday that the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic will lead to the biggest increase in global inequality on record unless governments radically rejig their economies. By contrast, Oxfam said it could take more than a decade for the worldโs poorest to recover their losses. Oxfam said the basis of the scenario plotted was in line with many other economic forecasts. Oxfam has traditionally sought to inspire debate at the World Economic Forum's annual gathering of business and political elites in the Swiss ski resort of Davos. Political leaders will be joined by business executives and campaigning organizations such as Oxfam during the discussions between Jan. 25-29.
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Bid to address health costs by 3 corporate giants is over
A health care venture created in 2018 by the three corporate giants to attack soaring care costs will shutter only a couple years after launching. (AP Photos, File)INDIANAPOLIS โ A health care venture conceived by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan to attack soaring costs is dissolving. Haven, which was formed in 2018 by the three U.S. corporate giants, will cease operations by the end of February, a company spokeswoman said Monday. Health care costs have grown faster than wages and inflation for years, stressing families and employers. It started new designs for health care benefits that eliminated patient out-of-pocket payments like deductibles and coinsurance and encouraged access to primary care.
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AP: Tight supplies for virus gear cost US states billions
The AP tallied more than $7 billion in purchases by states this spring for personal protective equipment, or PPE, and high-demand medical devices such as ventilators and infrared thermometers. Some governors described the early personal protective equipment marketplace as the Wild West, where supplies often went to the highest bidder, even if they had already been promised to someone else. This spring, states paid an average of $3 each, according to the AP's analysis. The largest supplier of personal protective equipment to states this spring had never sold a single mask before the pandemic. Others, however, were more than willing to describe how personal protective equipment sales provided a lifeline at the onset of the pandemic.
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AP: States spent over $7B competing for early virus supplies
California spent the most during the pandemic's initial months โ at least $1.5 billion in the AP's data โ followed by Texas, Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington. Traditional safety equipment suppliers also saw a surge in PPE sales, offsetting their losses from other products amid the sudden recession. Many of the companies in the AP's data set are not publicly traded and thus can keep their financial figures private. Others, however, were more than willing to describe how PPE sales provided a lifeline at the onset of the pandemic. The AP's data for the spring includes just over $50 million in PPE sales to states by the Salem, New Hampshire, company.
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Historic deal revives plan for largest US dam demolition
Oregon, California and the nonprofit would jointly take over the hydroelectric license from PacifiCorp while the nonprofit will oversee the work. Buffett said the reworked deal solves a โvery complex challenge.โโI recognize the importance of Klamath dam removal and river restoration for tribal people in the Klamath Basin," Buffett said in a statement. If we just give them a chance, they will,โ said Chook-Chook Hillman, a Karuk tribal member fighting for dam removal. In the original deal, PacifiCorp was to transfer its license and contribute $200 million to bow out of the removal project and avoid further costs and liability. The Klamath River project would be the largest such project by far if it proceeds.
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The Latest: Trump raises $247.8M in Sept., far behind Biden
President Donald Trump speaks during an NBC News Town Hall with moderator Savannah Guthrie, at Perez Art Museum Miami, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020, in Miami. His Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, participated in an ABC town hall from Philadelphia at the same time. __9:50 p.m.Democrat Joe Biden says President Donald Trump has not been โchastenedโ by the claims of racial injustice that have marked his presidency. ___9:20 p.m.President Donald Trump tried to end his contentious town hall meeting on a positive note. ___9:15 p.m.President Donald Trump demurred when asked whether he supports overturning Roe v. Wade.
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Stocks are soaring, and most Black people are missing out
Or, because fewer Black families have wealth that has carried through generations, they may be more wary of risky investments. And Black households are much more likely to be in that not-as-fortunate group that isn't in the stock market. Only 33.5% of Black households owned stocks in 2019, according to data released recently by the Federal Reserve. But researchers say that even wealthier Black households are much less likely to own stocks than their white counterparts. The figure is just 44% for Black families and 28% for Hispanic families.
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AP EXPLAINS: Biden sizable but not radical tax plans
There are several policy provisions tied up in Bidenโs promise, but income tax rates often get the most attention. That's lower than the marginal income tax rates for many in the investor class. Gains on short-term holdings of less than a year are subject to personal income tax rates. Itโs essentially a corporate version of the alternative minimum tax that some wealthier individuals use to figure their personal income tax. Biden proposes eliminating that inheritor benefit and instead applying capital gains taxes based on the original value of an asset.