Daily Archives: May 15, 2009

Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Q1-2009 Holdings A to F (BRK-A, AXP, BAC, BNI, KMX, KO, CMCSA, CDCO, COP, CEG, COST, ETN)

Buffett ImageWe have just gotten the Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A)(BRK-B) holdings for the end of Q1-2009.  The cut off date here was March 31, 2009 and there are some changes that have been seen here from the e3nd of Q4.  We have broken these down into 3 groups of ‘A to F’ and  ‘G to O’ and ‘P to Z’ so these fit on one page easier.  Here is the list ‘A ot F.’

  • American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) over 151.6 million shares, same as  before.
  • Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) 5 million shares; same as last quarter.
  • Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI) 76.77 million shares; HIGHER than 70.089 million shares of last quarter.
  • Carmax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) 12 million shares; LOWER than the 17.63 million and that is two straight quarters of declines.
  • Coca Cola (NYSE: KO) right at 200 million shares, still same as before.
  • Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) 12 million shares, same as before.
  • Comdisco Holdings (NASDAQ: CDCO) roughly 1.5 million shares, same as before.
  • ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is really lower than the 71.228 million reported as this has been used for cutting taxes, and we already know that the number is lower than what the filing says.
  • Constellation Energy Group (NYSE: CEG) was just updated this week so the number is actually about 12.4 million rather than what the filing shows as being 14.828 million shares.
  • Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) 5.254 million shares, same as before.
  • Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) 3.2 million shares; looks like new holding but may have been missed before.

Here is the full list of Buffett holdings “G to O”

Here is the full list of Buffett holdings “P to Z”

Jon C. Ogg
May 15, 2009

Posted on: May 15, 2009 – 4:06 pm in Activist Investor, Banking, Buffett, Buffett Holdings, Conglomerates, Insider Activity, Mutual Funds, Value Investing, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Disclose Holdings G to O (BRK-A, GCI, GE, GSK, HD, IR, IRM, JNJ, KFT, LOW, MTB, MCO, NLC, NKE, NSC, NRG)

Buffett ImageThe first quarter of 2009 Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A)(BRK-B) holdings are now out for the cut off date here of March 31, 2009.  There are some changes from the end of Q4.  We have broken these down into 3 groups A to F, G to O, and P to Z so these fit on one page easier.  Here is the list ‘G to O.’

  • Gannett Co. (NYSE: GCI) 3.447 million shares, the same as before.
  • General Electric Corp. (NYSE: GE) 7.777 million shares is the same as before, but does not include the 10% preferred from last year.
  • GlaxoSmithkline (NYSE: GSK) 1.51 million shares, same as before.
  • Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) 3.7 million shares; same as before.
  • Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE: IR) 7.78 million, same as last quarter.
  • Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM) 3.3722 million shares, same as before.
  • Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) about 32.5 million, ABOVE the prior 28.6 million shares but still down from the 62 million last year.
  • Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) over 138 million; looks roughly the same as before.
  • Lowe’s Companies (NYSE: LOW) 6.5 million shares, same as before.
  • M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB) 6.71 million shares, same as before.
  • Moody’s (NYSE: MCO) 48 million shares, same as before.
  • Nalco Holding (NYSE: NLC) 9.0 million shares; ABOVE our report of 8.730 million last quarter.
  • Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) 7.641 million shares, same as before.
  • Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) 1.933 million shares, same as before.
  • NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) 7.2 million, same as before.

Here is the full list of Buffett holdings “A to F”

Here is the full list of Buffett holdings “P to Z”

Jon C. Ogg
May 15, 2009

Posted on: May 15, 2009 – 4:04 pm in Activist Investor, Buffett, Buffett Holdings, Conglomerates, Insider Activity, Mutual Funds, Value Investing, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Q1-2009 Holdings P to Z (BRK-A, PG, SNY, STI, TMK, USB, USG, UNH, UNP, UPS, WBC, WMT, WPO, WFC, WLP, WSC)

Buffett ImageWarren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A)(BRK-B) holdings for the first quarter of 2009 are now out for the cut off date here of March 31, 2009.  There are some changes from the end of Q4 here in banking and here is the list of stocks alphabetically ‘P to Z.’

  • Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) 96.3 million, same as before.
  • Sanofi Aventis (NYSE: SNY) more than 3.9 million shares, looks same as before.
  • Sun Trust Bank (NYSE: STI) more than 3.2 million shares, same as before.
  • Torchmark Corp. (NYSE: TMK) roughly 2.82 million, same as before.
  • US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) roughly 69 million; ABOVE last quarter’s 67.6 million.
  • USG Corp. (NYSE: USG) 17.072 million shares, same as before.
  • United Health Group (NYSE: UNH) 4.5 million; down from over 6 million.
  • Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP) 9.55 million shares, above our 8.9 million noted before.
  • United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) 1.429 million shares, same as before.
  • WABCO Holdings (NYSE: WBC) 2.7 million shares, same as before.
  • Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) over 19.9 million shares, same as before.
  • Washington Post (NYSE: WPO) over 1.72 million shares, same as before.
  • Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) over 302 million; ABOVE the 290+ million shares the quarter before.
  • Wellpoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP) 4.7773 million shares, same as before.
  • Wesco Financial Corp. (NYSE: WSC) 5.7 million shares, same as before.

Here is the full list of Buffett holdings “A to F”
Here is the full list of Buffett holdings “G to O”

Jon C. Ogg
May 15, 2009

Posted on: May 15, 2009 – 4:02 pm in Activist Investor, Banking, Buffett, Buffett Holdings, Conglomerates, Insider Activity, Mutual Funds, Value Investing, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

AmEx Joins Card Issuers With Double-Digit Charge-Offs (AXP, WFC, C)

Money Stack ImageAmerican Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) is probably feeling a little lucky today.  On a day that the market is lower its shares are only down 2% after the company disclosed in an SEC filing that its write-offs crossed the 10% mark to 10.1% on the managed basis and 10.4% on the owned basis as of April 30. These are essentially the same trends we have seen at Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) and at Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C).

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Posted on: May 15, 2009 – 2:06 pm in Banking, Financial Stocks, , ,

T. Boone Pickens & BP Updated Stock Holdings (ANR, APC, COG, CHK, CNX, DVN, FLR, FWLT, HAL, MEE, OXY, STR, SLB, SU, RIG, WFT)

Pickens PicThis morning we got to see the new equity holdings of T. Boone Pickens, via his BP Capital Management, L.P.,  as of March 31, 2009.  Some of the higher stakes look to be in Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK), Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN), Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE: SU), and Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG).  Here is the full list of holdings for Pickens’ BP Capital with the implied value as of the reporting dat of March 31:

Posted on: May 15, 2009 – 11:37 am in Activist Investor, Insider Activity, Mutual Funds, Oil & Gas, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

AAPL Weekly Headline Roundup: May 15

A light week, but still some interesting news-bits, from 24/7 Wall St. partner Apple Investor News:

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Posted on: May 15, 2009 – 11:28 am in Consumer Electronics, PC Companies, Research,

Tales From the Hedge Fund Crypt

The Biden family legal flap and Andrew Cuomo’s investigations shed light on the era of shadow banking.

By Mark Gimein of The Big Money

What is it about siblings and the White House? Jimmy Carter had Billy, Hillary Clinton had Hugh Rodham, and George W. had Neil Bush. If Abel got elected president, it’s a near-certainty that Cain would have skipped the fratricide and instead built a nice little business trading off his brother’s name.

The family saga that’s gotten the blogosphere riled up in recent days doesn’t have to do with the president. It’s the vice president’s brother—Jim Biden—and his son, R. Hunter Biden, who’ve been drawing attention, thanks to a midsized, New York-based money-management firm they bought control of in 2006 called Paradigm Global Advisers.

Read more….

Posted on: May 15, 2009 – 10:33 am in Uncategorized

Hidden Benefit of DryShips Getting Waivers (DRYS)

DryShip ImageDryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) is seeing its shares surge on news that it has received waivers from lenders.  We have been expecting this for some time, and fairly recent reports of a share sale made this only look more likely that waivers would be granted.  This should even bring about some very positive trends after its recent issues brought up by auditors.
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Posted on: May 15, 2009 – 9:24 am in Banking, Secondary Offering, Trading Alert, Transports,

XOMA’s Hijack Financing On News (XOMA)

Money Stack ImageXOMA Ltd. (NASDAQ: XOMA) has seen shares on a tear yesterday and then again this morning. It was late yesterday that the company said it would also be entitled to royalties from its partner’s approval for CIMZIA after an approval indication for rheumatoid arthritis.  And it was just this morning that the company announced a collaboration with Zymeworks for an antibody research program.  Now, the company announced that it is raising about $10 million, via a share sale.
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Posted on: May 15, 2009 – 8:46 am in Biotech, Drug companies, Secondary Offering,

Yingli Deal Brings Some Attention To Solar (YGE, AES, CSIQ, JASO)

Solar Panel PicPhotovoltaic solar maker Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited (NYSE: YGE) has announced a framework agreement with a subsidiary of AES Corporation (NYSE: AES) to supply PV solar modules to AES Solar Energy Ltd. for a term of three years.

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Posted on: May 15, 2009 – 8:17 am in Alternative Energy, Green Biz, , , ,

Gold ETF’s Try To Interpret Anglogold Earnings (AU, GLD, GDX)

Gold ImageWith gold back well above the $900.00 mark, it seems that the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD) and the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDX) are trying to interpret a key gold earnings report.  South African gold miner AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (NYSE:AU) reported first quarter 2009 profits of $150 million and EPS of $0.42, substantially better than fourth quarter 2008 loss of $17 million (EPS loss of -$0.05).

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Posted on: May 15, 2009 – 8:09 am in Commodities, ETF, Metals, , ,

Inflation Stays Tame

Money Stack ImageThe Labor Department has just released its inflation data via Consumer Price Index readings, and it seems that inflation is still remaining tame.  The headline and nominal CPI came in flat at 0.0% and the core CPI on an ex-food and energy basis came in at +0.3%.
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Posted on: May 15, 2009 – 7:38 am in Economy

New Wave of Secondary Offerings (AWR, ENR, FIG, PL, SMTB, WAL)

Money Stack ImageWe are seeing yet another wave of secondary offerings that have priced between yesterday’s close and this morning. The offerings we have seen come to more than $1 billion and are from American States Water (NYSE: AWR), Energizer Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ENR), Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE: FIG), Protective Life Corp. (NYSE: PL), Smithtown Bancorp (NASDAQ: SMTB), and Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE: WAL).

We have broken these down by price and size, along with the difference of the pricing from yesterday’s close and from highs earlier this week.

Read More »

Posted on: May 15, 2009 – 6:37 am in Banking, Secondary Offering, , , , , ,

Early Bird Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ENS, ERIC, SHW, UDR, BT, BLDR, PCAR, VE)

It is looking a bit light on the analyst calls from Wall Street this morning.  Here are Friday’s top upgrades and downgrades seen with more than two hours until the market opens:

  • EnerSys (ENS) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
  • LM Ericsson (ERIC) Raised to Neutral from Sell at UBS.
  • Sherwin-Williams (SHW) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
  • UDR (UDR) Raised to Outperform at KBW.
  • BT Group (BT) Cut to Sell at UBS.
  • Builders Firstsource (BLDR) Cut to Neutral at Sun Trust Robinson Humphrey.
  • PACCAR (PCAR) Cut to Underweight at HSBC.
  • Veolia Environnement (VE) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.

JON C. OGG

May 15, 2009

Posted on: May 15, 2009 – 6:19 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , ,

GM (GM) Dealer Closings: Another 100,000 Jobs Lost?

bearGM (GM) is about to notify about 20% of its dealer network that it will not renew its contracts with them when they expire next year. By most estimates well over 1,000 GM dealers will be cut off.

The action will add to unemployment nationwide and it could cause a significant increase in joblessness over the next several months. The 1,000 GM dealers probably employ over 50,000 people. Each dealer has its own suppliers and vendors so the impact will not be contained to only the workers that the dealer have on their payrolls. Read More »

Posted on: May 15, 2009 – 5:15 am in Autos, , , ,

No Recovery In Europe Means No Recovery Elsewhere

bankThe GDP of the Euro-zone is larger that that of the US and it is in just as much trouble. In the 16-nation alliance GDP dropped 4.6% last quarter. Germany’s GDP fell more than it has in decades.

The news is not just bad for Europe. Because of the size of its consumer and business spending pool, an economic catastrophe in the region means that exports from the US and China will remain crippled, which, in turn will undermine any GDP growth in the two large nations. Read More »

Posted on: May 15, 2009 – 5:03 am in Economy, International Markets

Nationalizing The Bank Of America (BAC) Board Of Directors

bankThe federal government seems to think that many of the directors on the Bank of America (BAC) board are not qualified to serve. To solve that problem, the bank is being encouraged to find new directors who have more experience in bank operations.

Once the Treasury can successfully push for financial firm changes at the board level, the company making the changes is hardly independent. Read More »

Posted on: May 15, 2009 – 4:48 am in Banking, Corporate Governance, Management Change, ,

GM’s (GM) Deal With The UAW: Another Contribution To Unemployment

WinterGM (GM) is getting close to a deal with the UAW which will allow the auto company to lower its annual expenses by $1 billion. It will also lead to the layoffs of another 20,000 GM workers. Every time the government participates in saving a company, it seems to make unemployment worse. The labor concessions are part of a plan to bring down the No.1 US car company’s breakeven point which should trigger billions of dollars in additional government aid. Read More »

Posted on: May 15, 2009 – 4:33 am in Autos,

The Video Game Economic Index (MSFT)(SNE)

bearVideo games and video game consoles are sold across a broad spectrum of consumers whether they are measured by income or region. The games are also inexpensive enough so that they should be a reasonable proxy for consumer discretionary spending.

The signals from the video game industry in April were troubling. Sales of games dropped 23% and game console sales were down over 40%, according to research firm NPD. Read More »

Posted on: May 15, 2009 – 4:19 am in Consumer Electronics, Video Games, ,

Wal-Mart’s (WMT) Own Dollar Menu

bankMcDonald’s (MCD) did so well with its dollar menu that Wal-Mart (WMT) decided it will create one, too. The difference is that the Wal-Mart version will be merchandise and not food. McDonald’s philosophy of selling very inexpensive food in a clean, well-lit environment served by consistently friendly people has helped it expand its operations to 36,000 stores worldwide. Wal-Mart’s approach to retail stores is not terribly different. It may not be entirely coincidental that Wal-Mart was started in 1962 and McDonald’s began in 1955. Millions of relatively young people, most of them parents, were only a decade removed from serving their country and not being paid a great deal for that service. It was a perfect environment for consumers to believe that something could be inexpensive and a good value at the same time. Read More »

Posted on: May 15, 2009 – 3:57 am in Food, Retail, ,