Daily Investment Tips

Warren Buffet is the current CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. Buffet has led the investment company since inception. At 80, the talk now is who will be Berkshire Hathaway next CEO.

The following are some of the contenders as per internet rumour mills.

1. Charlie Munger

He has been Warren Buffet right hand man for decades. But there is a little problem of his age, at 86 he is a long short to be next CEO.

2. Ajit Jain

He is a Berkshire manager, who runs the National idemnity business.

3. David Sokol

The chief of huge Berkshire subsidiary MidAmerican Energy and recently installed CEO of NetJets, has also been viewed as a top contender.

4. Todd Anthony Combs

On 25 October 2010 Warren Buffet announced 39 Year old Todd Anthony Combs had been hired after a three-year search to “handle a significant portion of Berkshire’s investment portfolio.”. The internet went into a frenzy tipping him as Berkshire Hathaway next CEO.

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: Ajit, Berkshire Hathaway, Ceo, Charlie Munger, Contenders, Current, David Sokol, Decades, Frenzy, Inception, Internet Rumour, Investment Company, Investment Portfolio, Led, Netjets, Right Hand Man, Subsidiary, Tipping, Top Contender, Warren Buffet

The latest business news is that Warren Buffet, the Oracle of Omaha has tapped 39-year-old Todd Anthony Combs to manage a major part of Berkshire Hathaway investment portfolio.

That appointment will only and fuel to burning question? Who will succeed Warren Buffet? Is Todd Anthony Comb the chosen one?

Is he Berkshire Hathaway Next CEO

Todd Anthony Combs, who is CEO and portfolio manager at Greenwich, Conn.-based Castle Point Capital Management, will “handle a significant portion of Berkshire’s investment portfolio,” Buffett, 80, said Monday, in announcing Combs’s hiring.

Todd Anthony Combs is by birth a Floridian who graduated in 1993 from Florida State University with majors in finance and multinational business operation.

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett, Burning Question, Business Operation, Capital Management, Castle Point, Ceo, Comb, Conn, Florida State University, Floridian, Greenwich, Heir, Investment Portfolio, Latest Business News, Majors, Multinational Business, Oracle Of Omaha, Portfolio Manager, Warren Buffet

I was reading the latest quarterly report from Berkshire Hathaway, they just reported 40% profit decline for quarter ending June 2010.

The business remains solid but the company profits seem to be dragged down by its derivative contracts that the company signed in 2007.

The contracts are tied to equity indices. When the US stock market rises Berkshire gains but when the the stock indices slide down Berkshire looses.

In the last quarter the paper losses from this derivative contract was $1.5 billion.

In 2009 second-quarter the stock market soared & Berkshire recorded a mostly unrealized $1.5 billion gain on its derivatives in last year’s second quarter.

Warren Buffet himself correctly predicted the value of those derivatives would vary widely quarter to quarter.

How big a risk are this derivative contracts? Warren Buffet himself once referred to them as weapons of mass destruction.  Only time will tell.

For a better understanding of this derivative contract read this article Berkshire misunderstood derivatives.

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: Amp, Berkshire Hathaway, Company Profits, Decline, Derivative Contracts, Derivatives, Investing, Last Quarter, Paper Losses, Quarterly Report, Risk, Second Quarter, Slide Down, Stock Indices, Us Stock Market, Weapons Of Mass Destruction

Warren Buffet is arguably the best investor in the world. Over the years Buffet has shared his ideas on investing. Most of this ideas are found in his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders.

In this article I share some of the investment gems by Warren Buffet.These ideas can used as an investment guide to investing in stocks.

1. Buy and Hold.

This idea of buy and hold is synonymous with Warren Buffet. He buys into company’s and seems to hold the stocks forever.

2. Buy Stocks That You Understand.

Buy into companies which you understand their products and services. Warren Buffet is quoted saying “Stick to what you know. Bill Gates is a good friend, and I think he may be the smartest guy I have ever met. But I don’t know what this little things do. So I didn’t invest in Microsoft.

3. Always Have Spare cash

The reason why Buffet seems to do better then the rest is because he always has spare cash. During periods of crisis, he uses the extra liquidity to take advantage of opportunities.

4. Buy When Everyone is selling and Sell when everyone is buying.

He was quoted in 2009 saying “When it’s raining gold, reach for a bucket, not a thimble.”

5. Don’t Be Fooled By the Media Buzz / Euphoria

Charlie Munger his trusted lieutenant was quoted “avoid businesses whose futures we can’t evaluate, no matter how exciting their products may be.”

6. List down your reasons for buying a stock.

When your force yourself to write down your reasons for buying a stocks it prevents you from making dumb decisions.

7. Understand The Behaviour of the Crowd

A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greed and greedy when others are fearful.

8. Understand The Value in the Business

As he said in 2009 letter to investors, “In the end, what counts in investing is what you pay for a business — through the purchase of a small piece of it in the stock market — and what that business earns in the succeeding decade or two.”

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: Berkshire Hathaway, Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders, Bill Gates, Buy And Hold, Buy Stocks, Charlie Munger, Crowd, Dumb Decisions, Euphoria, Futures, Good Friend, Greed, Investing In Stocks, Investment Gems, Investment Guide, Lieutenant, Liquidity, Media Buzz, Stock Market, Warren Buffet

Warren Buffet is having a look at how his company, Berkshire Hathaway is performing and is convinced the US economy is on the upswing.

In  a 2010 yahoo finance and huffington blog interview the famous investor was quoted saying : -

The stimulus is working

If you feel the massive stimulus is not working for you, Buffet may disagree

“We’re hiring,” he adds, referring to many of his Berkshire Hathaway companies.

Buffet then painted a sunny picture for the US economy

The stimulus is working and the economy will improve in the next 2-3 years.

If you doubt Warren Buffet predictions Just remember his nick name is the Oracle of Omaha

To watch the full interview visit yahoo finance

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: 3 Years, Berkshire Hathaway, Company Berkshire Hathaway, Economic Forecast, Economy, Finance, Investor, Nick Name, Oracle, Oracle Of Omaha, Stimulus, Upswing, Warren Buffet, Yahoo, Yahoo Finance