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☆ Berkshire Hathaway’s utility company is about to hit a major renewable energy milestone
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Tim Mullaney | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

With annual meeting season coming soon, Warren Buffett's climate record is back in the news – and activists are still not happy. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate faces three different shareholder resolutions heading into its annual "Woodstock for capitalism" on May 6. Buffett's climate metrics getting betterBerkshire is a climate paradox: Many of its climate metrics are improving rapidly, if not as fast as some competitors. Any discussion of Berkshire and climate necessarily begin with its utility business, since electricity production accounts for a quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Berkshire Energy spokesman Brandon Zero said the company would have no comment.

☆ Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway faces a brutal mix of economic headwinds. It will capitalize on the chaos, 8 experts say.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Berkshire Hathaway faces high inflation, rising rates, and a potential recession and credit crunch. Warren Buffett's company will weather the storm and scoop up the bargains that emerge, experts say. Experts say Berkshire's ample cash reserves, strong brands, and prudent management will enable it to comfortably navigate a harsh economic environment. "Shareholders who plan on holding Berkshire for years into the future should hope for a near-term bear market in stocks. Brian Gongol, longtime Buffett follower and Berkshire shareholder:"It's better to be in Berkshire's shoes during challenging times than during a boom.

☆ Biden administration pushes to revitalize coal communities with clean energy projects
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The Biden administration is channeling hundreds of millions of dollars from recent legislation into its efforts to turn coal communities into clean energy hubs, the White House said Tuesday. The effort includes $450 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that the Department of Energy will allocate to an array of new clean energy demonstration projects on former mine lands. Many of the initiatives are made possible through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Chips and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. The administration touted the potential benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act, a bill passed by Democrats to spur clean energy investments last year. The Biden administration said the working group has funneled over $14.1 billion in federal investments into the select communities.

☆ Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway rejects call for silence on hot-button issues
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 17 (Reuters) - Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N), run by billionaire Warren Buffett, on Friday urged shareholders to reject proposals that it avoid discussing hot-button social and political issues, and competing proposals that it disclose more about its climate change and diversity efforts. While Buffett's salary is low, his 15.6% Berkshire stake comprises most of his $101.6 billion net worth, which Forbes magazine said makes him the world's sixth-richest person. Berkshire's more than $60 billion of stock repurchases since the end of 2019 helps preserve Buffett's voting power. Abel would become chief executive and Buffett's son Howard Buffett would become non-executive chairman if Warren Buffett could not continue. Berkshire's businesses include Geico car insurance, the BNSF railroad, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Dairy Queen, Fruit of the Loom and many others.

☆ Warren Buffett is missing out on this year’s market comeback
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

But the Oracle of Omaha has missed out on this year’s stock market rally. Buffett, in fact, has promoted that idea to investors many times, arguing that most individual stock pickers will not be able to beat the market. And to his credit, that usually pays dividends: Berkshire stock was up 3% last year in a down market. “High rates of inflation create a tax on capital that makes much corporate investment unwise,” Buffett said in his 1980 shareholder letter to Berkshire investors. Investors will get several more clues about consumer spending this week when several top retailers report earnings.

☆ Berkshire stock is trading at 20% discount, a level where Buffett typically ramps up buyback, UBS says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Shares of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway are now trading at a significant discount to the conglomerate's intrinsic value, which may prompt the "Oracle of Omaha" to buy back more of his stock, according to UBS. "BRK's shares are trading at more than a 20% discount to its intrinsic value based on the methodology outlined in BRK's 2018 Annual Letter to Shareholders," UBS' Berkshire analyst Brian Meredith said in a note. The conglomerate's stock held up well in 2022 with a 4% gain as investors favored more stable pockets of the market. The fifth grove of Berkshire is its insurance operations, which are not included in the calculation. Meanwhile, Berkshire suffered a $63.9 billion loss on its investments last year through September amid the broader market selloff.

☆ Dominion Energy weighing sale of stake in Cove Point LNG Facility -Bloomberg
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 7 (Reuters) - Dominion Energy Inc (D.N) is considering selling its multi-billion-dollar stake in the Cove Point liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Maryland's Chesapeake Bay, Bloomberg News reported on Monday citing people with knowledge of the matter. Talks are at an early stage, and Dominion could still decide to hold onto the 50% stake, the people said. The Cove Point terminal is operated by Berkshire Hathaway Inc's (BRKa.N) Berkshire Hathaway Energy, which owns 25% of the facility. The rest is owned by units of Dominion Energy (50%) and Brookfield Asset Management Inc (BAMa.TO) (25%). Shares of Dominion Energy dropped on Monday as the company initiates a "top-to-bottom" review to weigh strategic business actions, as its shares have been underperforming over the past several years.

☆ Buffett's Berkshire loses money as stocks, Hurricane Ian offset rising demand
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Nov 5 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) on Saturday posted a $2.69 billion third-quarter loss as rising inflation, falling stock investments and a big loss from Hurricane Ian offset improvement in many of the conglomerate's businesses. Berkshire also bought back more of its own stock but was cautious, repurchasing $1.05 billion, similar to the second quarter. Berkshire also said rising costs from fuel and accidents hurt respective results at two of its best-known businesses, the BNSF railroad and Geico auto insurer. Results included $10.45 billion of losses from investments and derivatives, as the stock prices of many large Berkshire investments other than Apple Inc (AAPL.O) fell. Results improved despite a $2.7 billion after-tax loss from Ian, a strong Category 4 hurricane that slammed into Florida on Sept. 28.

☆ Buffett's Berkshire loses money as stocks, Hurricane Ian offset higher demand
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Nov 5 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) on Saturday posted a $2.69 billion third-quarter loss as rising inflation, falling stock investments and a big loss from Hurricane Ian offset improvement in many of the conglomerate's businesses. It also bought back more of its own stock but was cautious, repurchasing $1.05 billion, similar to the second quarter. It also said rising costs hurt results at two of its best-known businesses, the BNSF railroad and Geico auto insurer. That helped offset a $2.7 billion after-tax loss from Ian, a strong Category 4 hurricane that slammed into Florida on Sept. 28. Net results included $10.45 billion of losses from investments and derivatives, as the stock prices of many large Berkshire investments other than Apple Inc (AAPL.O) fell.

☆ Berkshire Hathaway posts quarterly loss as stocks, Hurricane Ian weigh
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Nov 5 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) on Saturday posted a third-quarter loss, as falling stock investments and a big loss from Hurricane Ian offset improvement in many of its industrial businesses. Berkshire posted a quarterly net loss of $2.69 billion, or $1,832 per Class A share, compared with a profit of $10.34 billion, or $6,882 per share, a year earlier. Geico, meanwhile, suffered its fifth straight quarterly underwriting loss, reflecting "significant cost inflation" from damages claims, used car prices and shortages of car parts. Net results included $10.45 billion of losses from investments and derivatives, as the stock prices of many large Berkshire investments fell. This causes large quarterly swings in results that Buffett says are usually meaningless.

☆ U.S. natgas futures falls 3% on mild weather forecasts
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Oct 28 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures fell about 3% on Friday on record output and forecasts for mild weather and low heating demand through mid November, which should allow utilities to inject more gas into storage than usual for at least a few more weeks. The market was still waiting for the return of Freeport LNG's export plant in Texas. On its first day as the front-month, gas futures for December delivery fell 19.1 cents, or 3.3%, to settle at $5.684 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). During the first nine months of 2022, roughly 60%, or 6.3 bcfd, of U.S. LNG exports went to Europe, as shippers diverted cargoes from Asia to fetch higher prices. Last year, just 29%, or about 2.8 bcfd, of U.S. LNG exports went to Europe.

Oct 24 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures jumped about 5% after sliding to a fresh seven-month low earlier in the session on a technical rebound and expectations demand would rise as liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports increase once export plants exit maintenance outages in coming weeks. Some traders expect Freeport will return to service in November while others believe the return will be delayed. Front-month gas futures rose 24.0 cents, or 4.8%, to settle at $5.199 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). During the first nine months of 2022, roughly 60%, or 6.3 bcfd, of U.S. LNG exports went to Europe, as shippers diverted cargoes from Asia to fetch higher prices. Last year, just 29%, or about 2.8 bcfd, of U.S. LNG exports went to Europe.

☆ U.S. natgas falls 4% to 3-mth low on mild weather, global price collapse
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Oct 18 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures fell about 4% on Tuesday to a three-month low as oil and European gas prices dropped and forecasters called for milder U.S. weather over the next two weeks. U.S. gas prices have been declining for eight weeks as record domestic output and reduced liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports have allowed utilities to inject much more gas than usual into storage. Last year, just 29%, or about 2.8 bcfd, of U.S. LNG exports went to Europe. With milder weather coming, Refinitiv projected average U.S. gas demand, including exports, would fall from 101.0 bcfd this week to 95.9 bcfd next week. U.S. LNG exports, however, could start to rise this week if Cove Point returns to service as some traders expect.

☆ Warren Buffett's 91st year marked by a huge focus on Berkshire Hathaway's energy empire
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-30 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Warren Buffett turns 92 on Tuesday, having spent the past year expanding further his Berkshire Hathaway energy empire, making a classic value investor's bet. Plus, many energy stocks have found themselves with torrents of cash flow since the economy reopened following Covid lockdowns. "All of this just sounds like the perfect Berkshire Hathaway stock." If Berkshire continues to ramp up its Occidental investments and makes the position a controlling one, it probably reflects the influence of Greg Abel, Buffett's likely successor who has been leading the conglomerate's energy unit Berkshire Hathaway Energy. Berkshire acquired MidAmerican Energy in 1999, and Abel became CEO of MidAmerican Energy in 2008, six years before it was renamed Berkshire Hathaway Energy in 2014.

☆ Warren Buffett's stock shopping spree slows down even during market's big pullback. Here's why
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-08 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Warren Buffett's stock-buying spree slowed down drastically in the second quarter even during the market's big correction, and analysts said the "Oracle of Omaha" could be preserving capital for other uses. Berkshire Hathaway 's net stock purchase fell to $3.8 billion in the second quarter, compared with more than $41 billion in the first quarter, the conglomerate's quarterly reports showed. Berkshire Hathaway Energy? Berkshire now owns 92% of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, with the rest belonging to the family of the late billionaire philanthropist Walter Scott who passed away last September at age 90. The bulk of the losses were within Berkshire's largest positions, including Apple ($34 billion loss on Berkshire's position during the second quarter), Bank of America ($10 billion loss) and American Express ($7 billion loss).

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