May 2010

Sympathy for Sokol

Wed, 05/26/2010 - 18:19

I have to weigh in here and explain why I can’t help being sympathetic toward David Sokol. One reason is simply because he is the presumptive successor to Warren Buffett, not the "heir apparent." An heir apparent can only be displaced by a cataclysmic and almost inconceivable event, such as dethronement of Buffett. An "heir presumptive" can be displaced at any time by any number of events, the main one being the arrival on the scene of new heirs.

Shareholder Meeting Awards

Thu, 05/13/2010 - 09:31

So far at least.

Grand Champion Award for the Most Ubiquitious Shareholder: Tom Russo

Outdid Buffett as Company Shill Award: Kevin Clayton, for his infomercial for manufactured homes, live on Fox Business with Liz Claman.

Worst Windup Award: "I feel bad asking you this question" says Andrew Ross Sorkin, before questioning why Buffett spends so much time on TV with Becky instead of running the business. 

Worst Place to be Interviewed on Television Award: Standing in front of a giant model train set that makes you look child-size.

Shareholder Meeting Has Taken on Bubble Qualities

Tue, 05/04/2010 - 22:22

Just when you think it can't get any bigger, it does.

I Miss

Tue, 05/04/2010 - 00:43

the old shareholder meetings.

They didn't need the carnival to attract people.

It rocked.

(these are late night thoughts after a weekend contemplating the weekend and its aftermath, including a headline, Buffett Mortifies Shareholders by Defending Goldman Sachs on Yahoo Finance) http://bit.ly/bIoCMY

 

"Manager" Compensation

Mon, 05/03/2010 - 10:20

From a Barclays Capital research report. "Some of the CEOs of operating units earn tens of millions of dollars annually. Buffett could not recall losing a manager over compensation issues." Warren, I'm calling you on this one because I've seen the file. Yes, "some," like maybe three people out of the dozens, in a good year.

Different Way to Look at Cost of Meeting

Sun, 05/02/2010 - 15:28

Got an interesting email from someone who attended and reflected that "between the hotels, airlines, rental cars and restaurants, it cost 20 to 30 post-split B shares to attend BRK's annual meeting." I gather this shareholder did not go shopping at Borsheim's :-)

"Huge Mistakes Were Made at NetJets"

Sun, 05/02/2010 - 11:01

"buying jets at prices that were ridiculously high" that subsequently had to be written off.

This statement strikes me as misleading on its face. Rich talked to Warren nearly every single day -- I witnessed it. NetJets was not some rogue operation buying planes at high prices without Warren's knowledge, understanding, or consent.

Low Attendance

Sun, 05/02/2010 - 00:19

That's right, low attendance. A big-time reporter sought me out last week in desperation because of difficulty getting quality interviews. "Nobody is going to the meeting" this reporter said. Now, obviously a lot of people went to the meeting, 40,000 people or so. But the serious money managers this particular reporter wanted to interview were not going.

4 New CIO Candidates

Sat, 05/01/2010 - 23:45

See "Taking Stock" post - this has been updated.

Here's some context for the revelation that all four of the original candidates to run Berkshire's investment portfolio post-Buffett have been replaced.

First of Many

Sat, 05/01/2010 - 18:14

There are quite a few points to cover from the shareholder meeting and it's unlikely I'll even get to them all but will try to hit the key ones. Here is the first of many. Buffett speculated that the federal government may have told Goldman not to redeem the Berkshire preferred and said this only creates more earnings for Berkshire.  If so: