Results included a profit on Procter & Gamble Co. stock that Buffett traded to that company for Duracell.
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Alex Ryzhikov, a partner at Ewing Morris & Co Investment Partners in Toronto, said he drove 20 hours in a camper to Omaha past year and was first in line to enter the meeting at 12:30 a.m., six hours before doors opened.
Yahoo will live stream the five hour Q&A, and start of Berkshire Hathaway’s shareholders meeting.
“Railroad carloading throughout the industry – all of the major railroads – were down significantly in the first quarter, and probably nearly certainly will continue to be down for the balance of the year”, Buffett said. Buffett, the fourth richest man in the world, is fondly known as “The Oracle of Omaha” because of the astute business insights he shares at the annual gathering – attended by over 40 000 shareholders from around the world. Though Berkshire-owned companies employ hundreds of thousands, Buffett keeps the home team small. Even Buffett gets into the act and has served as a salesperson in the past. Discounts abounded for Berkshire shareholders – 28 percent off some Chippewa work boots, for instance – while the allure of simply buying Buffett-branded merchandise proved too much for shareholders seen toting bulging shopping bags.
“If you want to just get the content, you’re probably going to be okay watching online”, he said.
Speaking at Berkshire’s annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, Buffett said it seemed “spurious” to argue that calories from Coke alone were a significant factor in obesity levels.
And now General Re, Mr. Buffett’s third largest acquisition, will be cared for by Jain.
Buffett and Munger will begin taking serious business questions Saturday morning and continue through the day.
Buffett said he found from Census Bureau figures that roughly 10,000 men in the USA that lived to be 100 years old or greater, compared to roughly 45,000 women.
“For someone my age, he’s a good hero to have”, Tim Shanahan said shortly after snapping a fleeting picture of Buffett touring the exhibit hall.
A group of environmentalists hopes to make an impression on Buffett and the audience when they urge shareholders to support drafting a report on climate change risks Berkshire Hathaway’s insurance companies face. Buffett said BNSF was hurt by declining oil prices and coal shipments, while hailstorms caused losses in Berkshire insurance units. The meeting takes place on Saturday 30th April at 5pm (South African time). Prior to the formal business meeting, Warren E. Buffett, Berkshire’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Charles T. Munger, Berkshire’s Vice Chairman, will hold a question and answer session that will commence at approximately 9:30 a.m.
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Buffett said the live stream will give investors a chance to make sure he and the 92-year-old Munger hadn’t “drifted off into la-la land”.
