Warren Buffett says US-China trade war 'bad for the whole world'

Warren Buffett said on Monday that a trade war between the United States and China would be "bad for the whole world."

Buffett spoke after US President Donald Trump tweeted on Sunday that he would raise tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports to 25 percent from 10 percent beginning on Friday.

Trump also said he would soon slap a 25-percent tariff on $325 billion of Chinese goods that have not been taxed.

Major stock markets fell worldwide on Monday in response to the tweet, which preceded scheduled trade talks this week, and was a "rational" response, Buffett said on CNBC television.

Buffett's conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway Inc owns or invests in many companies that do business in China, including Apple Inc, in which it has a more than $50 billion stake, and Chinese electric car maker BYD Co.

"If we actually have a trade war it will be bad for the whole world," Buffett said.

A full-scale trade war is unlikely, he said, but "would be bad for everything Berkshire owns."

Berkshire Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, also speaking on CNBC, said Trump was not "totally crazy" for wanting higher tariffs on some goods, but that a trade war would be "massively stupid."

Despite the concerns, Buffett said it would be "nonsense" for investors to sell stocks based on negative headlines, adding that the United States and China will be the world's superpowers for the next 100 years and will always have tensions.

He also said the battle would not affect how Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire operates.

The company owns more than 90 companies including utilities, makers of industrial parts and chemicals, Geico auto insurance and Dairy Queen ice cream, and ended March with $191.8 billion of equity investments.

"We will buy the same stocks today that we were buying last week," and would be "delighted" if a good Chinese business expressed interest in a Berkshire transaction, Buffett said.

HIGHER STAKES FOR CHINA

Trump on Monday tweeted that the United States had for many years lost $600 billion to $800 billion annually on trade, and "with China we lose 500 Billion Dollars. Sorry, we're not going to be doing that anymore!"

Buffett said tough talk ahead of trade negotiations was understandable, saying that for some people "the best technique is to act half-crazy," but it would be ineffective to "shake your fist first and then shake your finger later on."

He added that Trump's planned tariffs raise the stakes for Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

"You're talking about two personalities who are very much used to getting their way in politics, and talking about how they will be perceived in their own country in terms of their behavior," Buffett said. "It gets very complicated."

Buffett said the trade dispute has already had an effect on Berkshire's BNSF railroad.

Meanwhile, Jim Weber, the chief executive officer of Berkshire's Brooks Running unit, said in an interview last week that his company was ending most shoe production in China and moving it to Vietnam because of tariff concerns.

Buffett also said the United States should bolster its trade relations with Canada and Mexico.

"We've got lots and lots and lots of common interests," he said. "Trade with Mexico and Canada is enormously important. We should treat them as neighbors, and not adversaries."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Warren Buffett says trade war would be 'bad for the whole world'

Warren Buffett said on Monday that a trade war between the United States and China would be "bad for the whole world."

Buffett spoke after U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted on Sunday that he will raise tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports to 25 percent from 10 percent beginning on Friday, and "shortly" slap a 25 percent tariff on $325 billion of Chinese goods that have not been taxed.

Major stock markets fell worldwide on Monday in response to the president's tweet, which was a "rational" response, Buffett said on CNBC television.

His conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway Inc owns or invests in many companies that do business in China, including Apple Inc in which it has a more than $50 billion stake.

"If we actually have a trade war it will be bad for the whole world," Buffett said. "With some people in negotiations, the best technique is to act half-crazy."

A full-scale trade war "would be bad for everything Berkshire owns," Buffett added, though the probability it might happen is low.

Buffett said tough talk ahead of negotiations was understandable, but that it was ineffective to "shake your fist first and then shake your finger later on." He added that Trump's threat raises the stakes for Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

"You're talking about two personalities who are very much used to getting their way in politics, and talking about how they will be perceived in their own country in terms of their behavior," he said. "It gets very complicated."

Buffett said the trade dispute has already had an effect on Berkshire's BNSF railroad.

Last week, Jim Weber, the chief executive officer of Berkshire's Brooks Running unit, said in an interview that his company was ending most of its shoe production in China and moving it to Vietnam because of tariff concerns.

Buffett nonetheless said the problems will not affect how Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire operates. "We will buy the same stocks today that we were buying last week," he said.

Berkshire ended March with $191.8 billion of equity investments. It also owns more than 90 companies including energy and utility companies, the Geico auto insurer and the Dairy Queen ice cream chain. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Jennifer Ablan in New York; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Billionaire Buffett says women's place is in investing

OMAHA -- Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said Saturday that women ought to have a higher profile in investing.

On the sidelines of the annual shareholders meeting of his Berkshire Hathaway empire in Omaha, Buffett made a surprise appearance at a gathering called Variant Perspectives, organized by a group of women financial professionals aiming to end the imbalance.

"It's long overdue," Buffet said of the goal.

"When someone calls me from the outside with an investment idea, I'm not going to ask what their sex is; it wouldn't make a difference," he added, stressing that: "The stock doesn't know who owns it."

Only 3 percent of investment funds in the United States are owned by women, according to Variant Perspectives.

Laura Rittenhouse, who started her own firm, said it's shocking that, with 60 percent of wealth in the United States in women's hands, they typically could not find a woman to handle their investment funds.

For Danielle Town, investor and founder of the Invested practice, a bi-weekly letter, women are often known to be less reactive and more successful financial managers.

"It's much more difficult to be a professional female investor than a man; but we also know that women's returns are better and yet they are not getting assets management positions," she said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Billionaire Warren Buffett gives new hint about his successor

OMAHA -- Billionaire Warren Buffett on Saturday gave a clue on who might succeed him to run his Berkshire Hathaway empire, but did not completely reveal his hand.

The world's third-richest man also said at his company's annual shareholder meeting that its recent investment in Amazon was not a shift in strategy to focus on Silicon Valley firms, which have largely remained missing from Berkshire's voluminous portfolio.

Buffett, 88, was pressed by questions -- each greeted with a torrent of applause -- about who would succeed him.

Without answering directly, Buffett said Gregory Able, 57, and Ajit Jain, 67 -- both promoted last year to the board of directors -- would in the near future join him and long-time business partner Charlie Munger, 95, on the stage to answer shareholder questions.

"You could not have two better operating managers than Greg and Ajit. It's just fantastic what they've accomplished," said Buffett, who is known as the "Oracle of Omaha."

For decades, Buffett and Munger have been the two stars of Berkshire Hathaway, but on Saturday, Jain answered a shareholder question, though he did so from the floor.

'UNBUREAUCRATIC' 


Abel joined the company in 1992 in the energy division, and for more than a year has overseen all non-insurance activities, while Jain came on board in 1986 in the insurance division, which he currently leads.

But who will prevail, or could they jointly take the helm?

"One of the reasons we have trouble with these questions is because Berkshire is so very peculiar. We have a different, kind of unbureaucratic way of making decisions," said Munger.

"But I don't want to be like everybody else because this has worked better. So I think you're going to have to endure us," he said.

Buffett's departure is likely to open a new era at the company, especially with shares of Berkshire considered to be 10 to 15 percent above their real value thanks to the billionaire's presence at the helm.

Some analysts say a Buffett-less Berkshire Hathaway could be a candidate for being broken up into multiple companies.

INVESTING IN TECH 

Buffett and Munger on Saturday also faced an onslaught of questions about strategy for investing in technology companies after Berkshire revealed a stake in Amazon.

Buffett said Amazon chief Jeff Bezos has pulled off "close to a miracle" by transforming an online book seller into the e-commerce giant it is today.

Munger also acknowledged that he and Buffett felt "ashamed" for missing the boat on Google.

"We just sat there sucking our thumbs," he said. "We screwed up."

But there's no indication of a strategy shift at Berkshire to invest more heavily in tech, aside from its new stake in Amazon and a $40 billion stake in Apple.

On Saturday, Berkshire Hathaway announced a net profit of $21.66 billion -- a result that does not take into account expected losses from its stake in Kraft Heinz, which has recently depreciated assets valued in the billions of dollars.

Berkshire Hathaway has holdings in companies such as American Express, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, and is active in sectors like insurance (Geico), rail (BNSF) and energy (PacifiCorp).

The Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting, which draws tens of thousands to the small city of Omaha in the American heartland, has been dubbed "Woodstock for Capitalists."

Unlike other annual meetings, the goal here is not to release company results but to hear Buffett identify companies that he might invest in, or from which he might withdraw his money.

Some 20,000 people secured a coveted pass to hear Buffett speak in person, after lining up from 5:00 am, with thousands more left to soak up the atmosphere from outside the theater.

Buffett kicked off the day by touring the souvenir stands at CHI Health Center and mingling with the crowd of attendees, made up of leading executives, investors and billionaires from around the world.

This year, many Chinese delegations made the trip.

Buffett, who is worth almost $90 billion, still lives in a relatively modest house about 10 minutes outside downtown Omaha that he bought in 1958.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Warren Buffett: Beloved American billionaire with humility

NEW YORK -- Legend, icon, guru: Warren Buffett cuts a unique figure in the United States as a billionaire with a long track record of brilliant investing whose renown is softened by folksy midwestern charm.

Donning classic gray suits and colored ties, the 88-year-old "Oracle of Omaha" has managed to cultivate a humble and accessible persona despite his standing as the world's third-richest person.

His following in his home country is cult-like, with thousands of small investors making a pilgrimage each spring for the annual meeting at Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett's company.

The event takes place in Omaha, Nebraska, right in the middle of the United States, in the city where Buffett was born and has always lived.

"He is such a down-to-earth person," said David Kass, a finance professor at the University of Maryland and the author of a blog on Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway.

"He's a hero who's generally popular with the public," said Gregori Volokhine of Meeschaert Financial Services.

NOTHING FANCY

Buffett evinces few of the trappings of the generally loathed "one percent." He has lived in the same house since 1958 in a quiet neighborhood of Omaha. 

His gastronomic tastes are also decidedly humble and include McDonald's chicken McNuggets at least three times a week. He also favors potato chips for snacks, ice cream for dessert and an average of five cans of Coca-Cola per day.

Equally telling, Buffett eschews big-ticket art-collecting and other pursuits emblematic of the high life.

"I don't need fancy clothes," Buffett told CBS in 2013. "I don't need fancy food."

Though raised middle class, Buffett did not have an easy childhood in some ways.

He has described going through a shoplifting phase and was forced to navigate around his abusive mother Leila, who used to berate his sister Doris as "stupid."

In the biography "Giving it all away: The Doris Buffett story," Warren Buffett acknowledges he did not stand up to his mother on Doris' behalf, saying "I never did because I was afraid of becoming the target myself."

Buffett's commitment to philanthropy has further helped insulate him from popular resentment. He has donated billions of dollars to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and has, like Gates, called for the wealthy to pay higher taxes. 

SEPARATING EMOTION FROM INVESTING

Although Buffett makes some public appearances, he guards his privacy and keeps a tight circle of close advisers, including longtime Berkshire Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, who is 95, and shares Buffett's straight-talking tendencies.

His circle of friends include JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon, who praised Buffett's clinical approach to investing.

"He is always guided by the facts and his core principles -- not emotion," Dimon told AFP in an email. "He is grounded in long-held, proven principles, but willing to change and not rigid in his approach."

Buffett is also a savvy communicator.

"He uses very short parables, stories and analogies," Alice Schroeder, author of the Buffett biography "The Snowball," told SeekingAlpha.com in 2010.

"He chooses key words that resonate with people -- that will stick in their hands, like Aesop's Fables," she said. "It enables him to very quickly make a point without having to expend a lot of verbiage."

Born on August 30, 1930 as the middle of three children, Buffett discovered an early taste for business after reading the book "One Thousands Ways to make $1,000."

Buffett had designs on abandoning his studies, an idea vetoed by his father, a businessman and politician who served in Congress. He attended the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania as an undergraduate and later received a masters from Columbia University in New York in 1951.

Buffett worked on Wall Street in the 1950s, establishing the Buffett Partnership, which merged in 1965 with Berkshire Hathaway, a textile firm. 

In the half-century since, Buffett has transformed Berkshire into a far-flung conglomerate worth more than $530 billion and known for investments in nuts-and-bolts sectors such as energy, banks, air travel and food.

His holdings include JPMorgan, Coca-Cola, Apple and American Express. 

In general, Buffett's approach is to delegate as much as possible on management questions, while maintaining control of assets.

And homespun charm has not stopped Buffett from wielding the corporate ax when necessary, as with Kraft Heinz, which Buffett acquired with 3G Capital, an investment firm known for severe cost-cutting.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

The price for lunch with Warren Buffett: $3.3 million

An anonymous bidder has agreed to pay $3,300,100 at auction to have a private lunch with Warren Buffett, the billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

The winning bid came near the end of a 5-day online auction on eBay to benefit the Glide Foundation, a San Francisco charity that serves people who are poor, homeless or battling substance abuse.

It was the third highest price in the 19 years Buffett has offered lunch, near the record $3,456,789 bid in both the 2012 and 2016 auctions. This year's auction drew 136 bids from just 6 bidders before ending on Friday night.

The auction helps cover Glide's $20 million annual budget, which goes toward providing roughly 750,000 free meals, shelter, HIV and Hepatitis C tests, job training, and children's day care and after-school programs.

"Glide really takes people who have hit rock bottom and helps bring them back," Buffett said in a statement.

Buffett, 87, has raised $29.6 million for Glide through the 19 auctions.

His first wife Susan, who died in 2004, introduced him to Glide after volunteering there. The Reverend Cecil Williams, 88, Glide's charismatic co-founder, remains a minister at its affiliated church.

"The $3.3 million is an extraordinary gift, not just the money but the fact that Warren Buffett lends his name and reputation and shines a light on the work Glide does," Glide's president, Karen Hanrahan, said by phone. "Demand for our services is skyrocketing, in this city of innovation and wealth."

The winning bidder and up to 7 friends can dine with Buffett at the Smith & Wollensky steak house in Manhattan.

Buffett will discuss anything apart from what he might invest in next.

Ted Weschler, a hedge fund manager, paid a combined $5.25 million to win the 2010 and 2011 auctions, and later joined Berkshire as one of Buffett's investment managers.

Berkshire has more than 90 businesses in the insurance, energy, food and retail, industrial, railroad, real estate and other sectors, and also invests in companies such as Apple Inc, Wells Fargo & Co and Coca-Cola Co.

According to Glide, these bidders have won its auctions:

2000: Pete Budlong, $25,000

2001: Jim Halperin and Scott Tilson, $20,000

2002: Jim Halperin and Scott Tilson, $25,000

2003: David Einhorn, Greenlight Capital, $250,100

2004: Jason Choo, Singapore, $202,100

2005: Anonymous, $351,100

2006: Yongping Duan, California, $620,100

2007: Mohnish Pabrai, Guy Spier, Harina Kapoor, $650,100

2008: Zhao Danyang, Pure Heart Asset Management, China,
$2,110,100

2009: Courtenay Wolfe, Salida Capital, Canada, $1,680,300

2010: Ted Weschler, $2,626,311

2011: Ted Weschler, $2,626,411

2012: Anonymous, $3,456,789

2013: Anonymous, $1,000,100

2014: Andy Chua, Singapore, $2,166,766

2015: Zhu Ye, Dalian Zeus Entertainment Co, China,
$2,345,678

2016: Anonymous, $3,456,789

2017: Anonymous, $2,679,001

2018: Anonymous, $3,300,100

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Billionaire Warren Buffett invests in 3 big US airlines

NEW YORK - Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has taken stakes in three large US airlines, in a $1.3 billion bet that marks a sharp U-turn of his antagonistic views on the sector.

Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. invested $797 million in American Airlines, $249 million in Delta Air Lines and $237 million in United Continental Holdings, according to a regulatory filing reviewed Monday by AFP.

Berkshire Hathaway also took a stake in Southwest Airlines, CNBC television network reported Monday.

The financial guru was known for his dislike of the airline industry after his disastrous bet on preferred shares of US Airways in 1989, calling the sector a "death trap."

The surprise Berkshire news pushed airline shares sharply higher in after-market trades. American Airlines jumped 3.5 percent, Delta was up 2.9 percent and United Continental, parent of United Airlines, gained 2.6 percent.

Buffett, the head of the massive Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate, is the world's third wealthiest person.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

What kind of investor are you?

MANILA, Philippines – In the easy language of the markets, those who buy and sell stocks can claim the title “investor.”

But according to financial adviser Salve Duplito, there is a thin line between being an investor and being a speculator.

To know the difference between the two, Duplito said you should answer this question: When do you buy a new stock?

If the answer to this question is when you think its price is about to go up, when it has started to go up, or when you hear about its great returns in the past years from a friend, then you are probably more a speculator than an investor, Duplito said.

She noted that researching and reading annual reports are practiced by investors because they calculate what a stock is worth based on the value of its businesses, rather than gamble that a stock will go up in price because someone will pay more for it.

“Taking the time to read reports shows you’re serious about investing as opposed to making a quick buck,” she said on ANC’s “On The Money.”

Vandermir Say, a shareholder at Berkshire Hathaway, agreed with Duplito, saying taking the time to do research is what makes an investor.

“If one is honest to oneself, it’s not that hard to figure out. Like reading annual reports, it’s either you’re reading them or not. If you’re not, it’s hard to call yourself an investor,” he said.

“You can’t call someone who engages in numerous one night stands as a sentimental guy, that is being applied to speculators,” he added.

Salve also noted that there are two types of investors, one who is committed to giving time and attention to investing and acknowledging that good research will increase returns or one who is content in being a passive investor enjoying possibly less return but putting in lesser time and work as well.

“Most of us want to enjoy high returns with less work or no work at all. Hence, the search for hot tips,” she said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com