Buffett/Berkshire - general news

[crs223]

2 hours ago, Xerxes said:

Anybody knows how to watch this live without any of that CNBC PRO firewall

 

EDIT:  i would be surprised if Buffett does not push CNBC to make this available pronto without the firewall. He is all about democratizing access to his point of views without hurdles. But would prefer to watch live. 

 

... you can sign up for a free trial week of YoutubeTV and watch it on the CNBC channel.

 

I assumed we could watch it for free on CNBC but you've got me thinking otherwise now... how frustrating.

[ValueMaven]

They are posting clips on Twitter.... at some point there will be a free video posted on CNBC.com.  

 

WEB is as sharp as ever ... it really is unreal to have this genius working for us on our behalf.  Great segment with Greg as well.  

Edited April 12, 2023 by ValueMaven

[Gamecock-YT]

Honestly there hasn't really been much. He hasn't wanted to answer a lot of questions and Becky hasn't really held him or got him to clarify the answers to the questions that were being asked. 

[gfp]

He mentioned they have put out $7-8 Billion to pay for Pilot and $4 Billion buying BRK stock and are still probably "up on cash and treasury bills" vs. year-end.  Sounds like insurance float is growing well and when hedging his comments about conditions in the general economy (carloads down, some managers surprised demand is weaker than they would have predicted 6 months ago, retail down, etc..) he was always pretty careful to point out that insurance is not hurting.  I expect a decent result from Insurance at BRK this year, despite the shrinking into profit going on at GEICO.

[Gamecock-YT]

let me tell you, referencing the nuclear bomb while in japan goes over swimmingly. 

[ValueMaven]

Disagree - I thought it was an awesome interview ... a lot of interesting insight

[Xerxes]

I listened to a clip where he was talking about the banking crisis after Becky asked a question about him seeing the losses on banks B/S, I couldn’t understand a word that he was saying when he was answering. I think he was dancing around the answer. 

[gfp]

I thought it was pretty funny when she asked him about Paramount, which from his answer is clearly his position and not Ted or Todd's.  He went on to list a bunch of reasons why streaming wasn't a good business and why Paramount and the industry in general wasn't a good business to invest in.  Then she said something like, "well that was a lot of reasons NOT to buy Paramount, but why did you buy it?" and he basically said, "well, we'll see how it works out."  As in, "this company is going to be sold."

[gfp]

Also, when was the last time you heard an investor cite "seismic risk" when discussing potential downside on Taiwan Semiconductor

[gfp]

Also, "why did you keep BAC but sell almost every other bank holding?"  Well, I got a special deal back when I bought the majority of the position and I really like Brian Moynihan.

[Xerxes]

9 minutes ago, gfp said:

I thought it was pretty funny when she asked him about Paramount, which from his answer is clearly his position and not Ted or Todd's.  He went on to list a bunch of reasons why streaming wasn't a good business and why Paramount and the industry in general wasn't a good business to invest in.  Then she said something like, "well that was a lot of reasons NOT to buy Paramount, but why did you buy it?" and he basically said, "well, we'll see how it works out."  As in, "this company is going to be sold."

I think he likes Yellowstone the TV show. 
it is an emotional investment. 

[CorpRaider]

41 minutes ago, gfp said:

I thought it was pretty funny when she asked him about Paramount, which from his answer is clearly his position and not Ted or Todd's.  He went on to list a bunch of reasons why streaming wasn't a good business and why Paramount and the industry in general wasn't a good business to invest in.  Then she said something like, "well that was a lot of reasons NOT to buy Paramount, but why did you buy it?" and he basically said, "well, we'll see how it works out."  As in, "this company is going to be sold."

 Becky, have you not seen TopGun Maverick?

[Xerxes]

I should add that they guy who wrote the book GE Power Failure (william Cohen) has argued in several podcasts that once “reverse morris” deadline/lockout passes there would further consolidation in the media industry. He named I think Paramount, Warner and Comcast. 

apologies, as I am not verse in the whole “reverse morris” thing and who is impacted by the lockout. So cannot describes it in better detail. 

 

[yesman182]

3 hours ago, gfp said:

Also, "why did you keep BAC but sell almost every other bank holding?"  Well, I got a special deal back when I bought the majority of the position and I really like Brian Moynihan.

I interpolated his answer to be " I wanted to sell, but I didn't because I asked to join BAC years ago, so I will stick it out"

Edited April 12, 2023 by yesman182

[ValueMaven]

Has the full interview been posted yet?

[gfp]

The first hour is available as a free podcast called "Squawk Pod" and I'm sure the next two parts are coming there soon.  (edit: no video on the podcast and the content starts at the 5 min. mark)

Edited April 12, 2023 by gfp

[Stuart D]

44 minutes ago, gfp said:

 

The first hour is available as a free podcast called "Squawk Pod" and I'm sure the next two parts are coming there soon.  (edit: no video on the podcast and the content starts at the 5 min. mark)

Edited 34 minutes ago by gfp

 

Thank you!

[yesman182]

11 hours ago, Xerxes said:

I should add that they guy who wrote the book GE Power Failure (william Cohen) has argued in several podcasts that once “reverse morris” deadline/lockout passes there would further consolidation in the media industry. He named I think Paramount, Warner and Comcast. 

apologies, as I am not verse in the whole “reverse morris” thing and who is impacted by the lockout. So cannot describes it in better detail. 

 

Do you have a link? I would be interested in listening.

[Xerxes]

1 hour ago, yesman182 said:

Do you have a link? I would be interested in listening.

 

There you go:

The back end of the episode on GE, starting mark 42 minute, where he talks about Zaslov and Brian Roberts. Something to do Reverse Morris Trust requirement that ends in April 2024.

 

The World According To Boyar Podcast - Value Investing Podcast (boyarvaluegroup.com)

 

 

Edited April 13, 2023 by Xerxes

[bennycx]

He would still like to own 100% of a bank though so the economics are quite good except for the tail risk of mismanagement

[Charlie]

Full transcript of the interview:

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/12/full-transcript-berkshire-hathaway-chairman-ceo-warren-buffett-speaks-with-cnbcs-becky-quick-on-squawk-box-today-.html

 

 

Cheers!

[benchmark]

13 hours ago, yesman182 said:

I interpolated his answer to be " I wanted to sell, but I didn't because I asked to join BAC years ago, so I will stick it out"

I think that he also like Brian and probably thinks that he is more conservative and won't have as much a risk as other banks? 

[oscarazocar]

9 hours ago, Xerxes said:

 

There you go:

The back end of the episode on GE, starting mark 42 minute, where he talks about Zaslov and Brian Roberts. Something to do Reverse Morris Trust requirement that ends in April 2024.

 

The World According To Boyar Podcast - Value Investing Podcast (boyarvaluegroup.com)

 

 

 

Warner Brothers and Discovery merged in a Reverse Morris Trust transaction in April 2022 and there is basically a two year period until they can do another tax-free merger.  As I recall, a  Reverse Morris Trust transaction is one in which a public company spins off a division and merges it with another company, with the spun-off piece owning greater than 50% of the new entity.  Liberty has used these type of transaction a few times over the years.

 

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/discovery-warnermedia-merger-favorable-tax-ruling-irs-1235068056/

[Luke]

Interesting, we know Buffett liked TSMC enough to buy 4b of it, he also thinks its a phenomenal business but he doesnt feel comfortable with China. Fair enough! The seismic point was a bit odd, they all know the deal about that in Taiwan and built accordingly...

[sleepydragon]

11 minutes ago, Luca said:

Interesting, we know Buffett liked TSMC enough to buy 4b of it, he also thinks its a phenomenal business but he doesnt feel comfortable with China. Fair enough! The seismic point was a bit odd, they all know the deal about that in Taiwan and built accordingly...

I suspect when he says “geo political” risk he is worrying TSM is forced to build factories in US which are much more costly and the huge capx on sensitive equipments and also the infrastructure support like electricity needed. It’s not just the war will actual happen, it’s whole new Cold War thing both governments are doing that will add costs to TSM’s business