Sokol’s Statements on CNBC Contradict Lubrizol’s Proxy Statement
In an article posted earlier today, we provided the video of David Sokol's CNBC appearance along with commentary regarding his statements. As part of that article, we raised the issue of Mr. Sokol's statements on CNBC contradicting the Lubrizol proxy ...
Sokol: My Mistake Was Suggesting Lubrizol to Buffett
David Sokol appeared on CNBC to discuss his resignation from Berkshire Hathaway which was announced by Warren Buffett in a very unusual press release on Wednesday afternoon. Read this article to view the video and for our comments ...
Sokol’s Resignation Raises Questions Regarding Lubrizol Transaction
In a press release issued this afternoon, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett announced the resignation of David Sokol. Mr. Sokol served as Chairman of several Berkshire subsidiaries and many observers, including The Rational Walk, previously believed that he ...
MidAmerican Energy Investor Presentation Slides
MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary, will host a fixed-income investor conference on March 30, 2011. Read this article for a brief description of the presentation and a link to the slides released by MidAmerican today in an ...
Berkshire’s Investment Write-Downs: “Gotcha Moment” or Difference of Opinion?
It should come as no surprise to careful readers of Berkshire Hathaway's financial statements that the company recorded an "other-than-temporary impairment loss" of $938 million in the fourth quarter of 2010 related to declines in the market value of certain ...
Video Interview With Berkshire Hathaway’s Ajit Jain Via New Delhi Television
In a very rare video interview, Ajit Jain sat down with New Delhi Television earlier this week and commented on a variety of subjects including the most important aspect of his job at Berkshire Hathaway: How to intelligently think about ...
Buffett: Berkshire’s Board Would Support Jain as Successor (But Jain’s Not Interested)
In a very unusual statement, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett has revealed that Berkshire's board of directors would almost certainly support Ajit Jain as the company's next CEO if he wanted the position. However, Mr. Jain is apparently ...
Buffett’s Still Looking for Elephants But Reluctant to Use Berkshire Shares
Warren Buffett is still interested in "shooting elephants" but is not interested in issuing Berkshire Hathaway shares to fund acquisitions. Read this article for a brief review of Mr. Buffett's recent comments and to view a CNBC interview ...
Berkshire’s Ajit Jain Comments on Indian Insurance Market, Japan, and Succession Issues
The Times of India has published a rare interview with Ajit Jain which coincides with Warren Buffett's arrival in Bangalore today. Mr. Buffett's trip to India coincides with the company's entry into the Indian auto insurance industry through Berkshireinsurance.com, a ...
Swiss Re Estimates $1.2 Billion Pre-Tax Loss From Japan Disasters
Swiss Re has projected claims costs of $1.2 billion net of retrocession and before taxes due to the disasters in Japan. The company emphasizes that a great deal of uncertainty remains due to the difficult situations that still exist in ...
Goldman Sachs Plans to Redeem Berkshire Hathaway’s Investment
Goldman Sachs has announced that the Federal Reserve has granted approval for the company to redeem Berkshire Hathaway's $5 billion investment in Goldman's 10% cumulative perpetual preferred stock. The investment was made on October 1, 2008 at the height of ...
How Should Investors Assess Worst Case Scenarios in Japan?
"At Oaktree, we believe that because there’s so much we can’t know about the future, we should invest only where our analysis tells us the worst case is tolerable." -- Howard Marks, memo to clients (pdf) dated March 11, 2003 ...
Looking For Hidden Real Estate Value at Investors Title Company
In this article, we will take a look at whether an examination of Investors Title's real estate holdings that goes beyond the company's SEC filings may reveal hidden real estate value not reflected in the company's stated shareholders' equity. Read ...
In Search of the “Buffett Premium” Free Sample Now Available on Scribd
The Rational Walk is pleased to make the free sample of Berkshire Hathaway: In Search of the "Buffett Premium" available in the Scribd format for readers who prefer to review the sample online rather than downloading the PDF file we ...
Transcript of Warren Buffett’s FCIC Testimony via Santangel’s Review
Santangel's Review recently published a 23 page transcript of Warren Buffett's FCIC testimony recorded on May 26, 2010. Read this article for commentary and a link to the transcript ...
Buffett Bags a Zebra: An Initial Look at Lubrizol Corporation
Berkshire Hathaway and The Lubrizol Corporation have announced a definitive agreement for Berkshire to acquire 100 percent of outstanding Lubrizol shares for $135 per share in an all-cash transaction. The transaction, announced before the start of trading on Monday, March ...
What Does Buffett’s Valuation of GEICO Imply for Progressive?
In this article, we will take a look at comments made in Warren Buffett's 2010 annual letter regarding GEICO's valuation and examine potential implications for the intrinsic value of Progressive, GEICO's most fierce competitor. Read this article for more details ...
Transcript of David Einhorn’s FCIC Testimony via Santangel’s Review
Santangel's Review has published an eleven page transcript of the FCIC's interview of David Einhorn, President of Greenlight Capital. Read this article for more details and a link to the transcript ...
Kian Ghazi to Present at Value Investing Congress
Kian Ghazi, founder of Hawkshaw Capital Management, is scheduled to make a presentation at the Value Investing Congress West taking place on May 3 and 4 in Pasadena, California. According to the Value Investing Congress website, Mr. Ghazi employs a ...
Implications of Cheap Natural Gas on Public Policy and Investing
Investors like to examine pricing anomalies, particularly related to commodities that could be viewed as substitutes but trade at radically different prices. One barrel of crude oil has approximately six times the energy content of one thousand cubic feet (mcf) ...