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Buffett Spends Record $2.2 Billion Buying Berkshire Shares
Warren Buffett kicked his stock-buyback program into high gear, spending $2.2 billion on repurchases in the last three months of 2019, the most ever in a single quarter – and he’s looking to buy even more. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., which loosened its repurchase policy almost two years ago after being stymied on the dealmaking front, has since taken a cautious approach to buybacks, acquiring only $6.3 billion of stock. In the fourth quarter, Buffett bought shares every month, and has no plans to slow down, if the price is right.
“Shareholders having at least $20 million in value of A or B shares and an inclination to sell shares to Berkshire may wish to have their broker contact Berkshire’s Mark Millard,” Buffett said in his annual letter to shareholders Saturday. “We request that you phone Mark between 8:00-8:30 a.m. or 3:00-3:30 p.m. Central Time, calling only if you are ready to sell.”
Even as Buffett ramped up his repurchases, Berkshire’s massive pile of cash hovered close to a record, totaling $128 billion at the end of 2019. Buffett, Berkshire’s chairman and chief executive officer, has sought to redeploy those funds into higher-returning deals or stock purchases, but has been stymied by what he’s said are “sky-high” prices for good businesses.
Buffett spent a portion of his annual letter reassuring shareholders about the future of the company once it’s no longer run by the billionaire investor and his business partner, Charlie Munger, who turned 96 this year. At Berkshire’s annual meeting in May, shareholders will be able to submit questions to be answered by lieutenants Ajit Jain or Greg Abel, Berkshire vice chairmen who are considered top contenders to someday replace Buffett. They answered a few investors questions at last year’s meeting.
Berkshire’s operating earnings fell to $4.42 billion in the fourth quarter, down 23% from a year earlier, driven by underwriting losses at its namesake reinsurance group, which was hurt by typhoons in Japan, wildfires in California and Australia, and widening losses at its business writing retroactive reinsurance contracts. Berkshire’s Class A shares last year underperformed the S&P 500 Index by the widest margin since 2009. The stock has gained just 1.1% this year. Also in Berkshire’s 2019 annual report, released alongside Buffett’s letter Saturday: Kraft Heinz Co., which counts Berkshire as its largest shareholder, had a tumultuous 2019, with writedowns, management shakeups and downgrades to junk. Buffett’s company carries its Kraft Heinz investment on its balance sheet at $13.8 billion, a figure unchanged since 2018’s fourth quarter, even as the market price of the stake dropped to $10.5 billion at the end of last year.Berkshire’s BNSF railroad posted a 3.8% gain in profit in the fourth quarter, just shy of record earnings in the previous three months, as a decline in expenses helped counter falling revenue across shipments of products such as coal, consumer items and agricultural goods. BNSF posted a regulatory filing Friday night, on the eve of the release of Buffett’s annual letter, giving investors a sneak peek of results.
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/2020/02/22/buffett-buys-billions-berkshire-hathaway-shares/111363064/
so it's just the whale's that are let out of shares via re-purchase if they choose…..feeling the heat Warren?
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Czech AF CEF03 depart New Delhi RCH498 C-17A Globemaster with another load of equipment inbound at Delhi and CAL062 east to Taipei from Frankfurt
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JPMorgan to Start U.K. Digital Consumer Bank
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is planning to enter the U.K. consumer-banking market in the next few months, offering a range of savings and loan products under its Chase brand, Sky News reported, citing unidentified sources. The Wall Street stalwart has been in discussions with regulators about securing the necessary approvals to operate in U.K. personal banking, Sky said. The new service will probably debut later this year and an unnamed existing JPMorgan executive is helming the project. A JPMorgan spokesperson declined to comment to Bloomberg.
New York-based JPMorgan would be jumping into a consumer-banking market that’s in a state of flux. Fintech players such as Monzo Bank Ltd. and Starling Bank Ltd. have attracted millions of customers looking for alternatives to the traditional institutions such as HSBC Holdings Plc and Barclays Plc. The prospective launch could also pit JPMorgan against Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s online-only bank called Marcus, which opened in the U.K. in September 2018, though a City source told Sky that JPMorgan was planning a wider range of products. Marcus, which offers savings accounts, is expected to add more services as it steps up its presence in Britain. Fierce competition in the notoriously tough U.K. banking market may already be taking its toll. Last week, N26 GmbH, a German digital bank backed by investor Peter Thiel, announced it was withdrawing from Britain after four years. The company blamed Brexit for its retreat but the crowded marketplace may have been a factor as well. Another German digital bank, Fidor Bank, also quit the U.K. last year.
https://www.bloomberg.com//news/articles/2020-02-22/jpmorgan-plans-to-launch-u-k-digital-consumer-bank-sky-reports
wut could go wrong here….
hut hut!