It's a jungle out there. And we brought it all here.
Filed under: Warren Buffett, People, Investing
By JOSH FUNK
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Billionaire Warren Buffett dispensed plenty of advice on investing and life during this weekend’s Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting.
The wisdom Buffett and his inves…
If you want to know how to invest in tech in 2013, there’s a major shift you should understand.
For much of the past three decades, technology companies have been huge sources of share-price growth. Some of the world’s biggest tech companies have let growth stock investors latch on to their innovation potential and watch the share prices soar above other sectors.
These tech stocks have been a great growth story for decades, and their industry dominance has led to huge profits and cash piles.
But, the growth leaders have changed.
While many look to Warren Buffett’s holdings to find the best stocks to buy, it turns out his holdings’ rivals could be the better picks.
Buffett is known not only for value investing, but also buying shares only of companies that operate in prosaic, easy-to-understand businesses. That’s why the holdings of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B) are spectacular.
But in this look at how to find more stocks to buy that deliver – and even beat – the gains of Buffett’s most popular holdings, some of the best bets could be companies that share a market with Berkshire’s big winners.
Take a look.
Filed under: Mergers & Acquisitions, Food & Beverage, Stocks, Warren Buffett
PITTSBURGH — Burger King CEO Bernardo Hees will take the top job at Heinz following its acquisition by investment firm 3G Capital and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B).
Hees, 43, has been CEO at Burger King, another 3G Capital investment, since 2010. Before that, Hees was CEO of America Latina Logistica, Latin America’s largest railroad and logistics company.
He will remain CEO at Burger King until the deal closes. Likewise, Heinz Chairman and CEO Bill Johnson will retain that job until the acquisition of the company closes.
The investors announced plans in February to buy Pittsburgh-based H.J. Heinz Co. (HNZ) in a $23.3 billion deal. Heinz shareholders are set to vote on the acquisition at a meeting April 30.
The deal is expected to close in the second or third quarter and still awaits regulatory approval in some countries and the European Union. U.S. authorities have already signed off on the deal.
3G Managing Partner Alex Behring said in a statement that Hees’ experience in the food industry makes him the ideal leader for Heinz.
Berkshire and Brazilian investment firm 3G said they will discuss a continuing role with Heinz with Johnson.
At Miami-based Burger King Worldwide Inc. (BKW), Chief Financial Officer Daniel Schwartz will become chief operating officer and will take the CEO job on July 1.
Hees led a campaign to revamp Burger King’s menu and marketing. The menu moves helped boost the burger chain’s profit in the fourth quarter.
But now, the world’s second-biggest hamburger chain says it needs to play up value more aggressively to compete with rivals.
On Wednesday, Burger King said it expects revenue at restaurants open at least a year fell 1.5 percent in the first quarter. The figure is considered critical because it strips out the effects of locations that opened or closed during the year.
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Legendary investor Warren Buffett is set to become one Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s (NYSE: GS) largest investors without shelling out one penny.
Impressive as that is, what’s even more striking is how the guru investor brokered the Goldman deal to his distinct advantage.
The savvy CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B) amended terms of warrants–a type of security that gives the holder the right to purchase securities from an issuer at a certain price within a certain time frame-issued to Berkshire during the 2008 financial meltdown.
At the time, Buffett’s investment in Goldman was gutsy. It was viewed as a vote of confidence in the bank as the country faced economic crisis.
The warrants originally gave Berkshire the right to buy $5 billion worth of Goldman common shares at $115 each any time before Oct. 1. Thanks to the new $1.5 billion deal inked Tuesday, Buffett’s company will receive 9.2 million shares.
According to data from Bloomberg News, that makes Berkshire the ninth-largest shareholder in Goldman.
The Oracle of Omaha said in a press release, “We intend to hold a significant investment in Goldman Sachs, a firm that I did my first transaction with more than 50 years ago. I have been privileged to have known and admired Goldman’s executive leadership team since my first meeting with Sidney Weinberg in 1940.”
Berkshire’s windfall from the investment surpasses $3 billion, making it one of Buffett’s most profitable wagers in recent history.
Goldman also benefits. The investment bank avoids a flood of sell-side shares that would have been dilutive. It also gets to include the revered name of Warren Buffett to its shareholder roster.
“We are pleased that Berkshire Hathaway intends to remain a long-term investor in Goldman Sachs,” Goldman’s CEO Lloyd Blankfein said in a statement.
