The new Buffett holdings are below.

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) was roughly 151.6 million shares, SAME AS last quarter.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK) was almost 19 million shares, which appears to be slightly lower but it had been raised before. What matters here is that it remains a substantial holding still.

Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. (NYSE: CBI) was a NEW POSITION at just over 6.5 million shares worth over $400 million.

Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) was more than 400 million shares due to the stock split of 2012, but this is virtually the SAME AS BEFORE.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is the SAME POSITION at 24.1 million shares, but this is lower than in prior quarters.

Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) was the SAME POSITION at 4,333,363 shares.

DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) was a LARGER POSITION and already more than a 10% stake and we recently saw that Berkshire Hathaway had entered into a standstill agreement not to buy more than 25% of the company after already having increased its stake recently. This was listed as 14.97 million shares as of March 31 versus 13.6 million shares before.

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) was the SAME POSITION at roughly 4 million shares.

DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) was HIGHER YET AGAIN at 37.275 million shares versus almost 34 million shares and that was also higher than before.

Gannett Co. (NYSE: GCI) was the SAME POSITION of 1.74 million shares.

General Electric Corp. (NYSE: GE) is listed as the SAME POSITION at 588,900 shares, but this is still way down from prior reports.

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) is the SAME POSITION at 25 million shares, but this was previously up from smaller positions.

GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) is the SAME POSITION at 1.51 million shares.

Bloomberg explains the Icahn counter offer:

Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management Inc., which together own 13 percent of Dell, are offering an alternative to the $13.65-a-share bid by Michael Dell and Silver Lake.

Southeastern and Icahn, in the sharply worded letter, said their proposal gives investors a chance to benefit from potential future growth at Dell and that it is more valuable than the buyout proposal. The two investors plan to take additional stock in the third-largest computer maker, rather than cash, they said.

The value of Icahn’s offer assumes that he can locate new senior management that can do what the other largest PC companies in the world have been unable to do. These companies include, at least, Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ), Lenovo, Acer and Asus. Sales of PCs have started to fall due to the popularity of smartphones and tablets. And as the market disintegrates, Dell has fared worse than most. Research firm Gartner reported on global PC shipments:

Worldwide PC shipments totaled 79.2 million units in the first quarter of 2013, a 11.2 percent decline from the first quarter of 2012, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. Global PC shipments went below 80 million units for the first time since the second quarter of 2009. All regions showed a decrease in shipments, with the EMEA region experiencing the steepest decline.

Gartner further reported:

Dell … had a challenging quarter, registering a shipment decline in all regions except Japan. In Gartner’s preliminary view, Dell’s shipment growth in Japan was boosted by moderate demand, driven by a corporate refresh. Dell’s discussions about a possible leveraged buyout impacted shipments, as competitors aggressively attacked Dell’s position in the professional market.

There is no silver lining in the cloud over Dell’s future.

A number of analysts claim that Dell is worth much more than the $13.65 Michael Dell has offered. To support that assumption, one of two things, and probably both, would need to happen. Dell’s operating costs would have to be pared to the bone, though Dell already has cut thousands of people. Dell also would have to enter sectors in which it has little or no market share, or has had the most limited success.

Dell has tried to move into enterprise computing, which would put it head to head with firms that include International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) and Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL). These companies control the high ground. Dell likely would need a significant position in both smartphones and laptops as well. Each of these sectors is already crowded, and each has powerful market leaders, such as Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Samsung.

Dell’s future does not offer investors much, which makes the Michael Dell offer attractive, even if it appears low right now.

A case in point comes from the share value increases in International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) and Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ). HP shares are higher by 50% this year, compared with 5% for IBM.

The argument most frequently offered for the difference is that IBM was already fully valued and that the shares of HP have been overly battered by bad news. The fallacy of that argument is that the trouble at HP has not gotten better in 2013. If anything, the company is in more trouble. Evidence of this is the increased turmoil over its buyout of Autonomy, the confusion of its board structure and its lack of a way to reverse its fortunes from the death of the PC. One the other hand, growth has slowed at IBM, but its profits and the stability of its operations are remarkable. If a bubble has formed in tech stock prices, HP should be considered as strong evidence.

The case in retail shares is just as compelling, if not more so. Thus far, there is little reason to think that electronics retailer Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) can be turned around. Same-store sales have stayed in trouble. On the other hand, the company that ruined Best Buy — e-commerce juggernaut Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) — posted revenue growth of 22% to $16.1 billion in its most recently reported quarter. It continues to add new products, the most recently rumored a 3D consumer electronics portable. And some analysts believe that Amazon’s enterprise cloud system eventually will be larger than its e-commerce system as measured by sales. But this year Best Buy’s shares are up 120% while Amazon’s are flat. Once again, an argument for the difference is that Best Buy might be turned around and that Amazon has low margins as its spends to expand several of its business. But Best Buy could turn out to be an outright failure, while Amazon is the most admired retail company in the world.

If it takes three examples to make a case, the value of the shares of Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) and Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) round out the argument. Zynga’s shares have risen almost 40% this year and Facebook’s are flat. Facebook powerfully made the case that it can continue to grow rapidly and that much of that growth is in mobile. Just last year, the markets were worried that mobile revenue was Facebook’s Achilles heel. In the first quarter, Facebook’s revenue rose almost 40% to $1.5 billion. The social network reported that “mobile advertising revenue represented approximately 30% of advertising revenue for the first quarter of 2013.” Zynga’s revenue fell 30% in its first quarter to $264 million. And its most crucial measure of health fell apart:

Daily active users (DAUs) decreased from 65 million in the first quarter of 2012 to 52 million in the first quarter of 2013, down 21% year-over-year. On a consecutive quarter basis, DAUs were down 8% from 56 million in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Those who believe that Zynga’s share price increase is justified fail to take into account that the company has lost almost all of its promise. Even on a relative basis, the stock trades based on the viability of Zynga, or the odds it might be taken over, both of which are in doubt.

The bull market may press shares of weak companies up more than those of strong ones. The problem is that the weak companies may not have any future at all.

In a new report, the analysts at Deutsche Bank move their exposure on the industrial sector from Overweight to Equal Weight. Banks and technology are upgraded to Overweight and are expected to outperform for the summer and the rest of 2013. Dividend guidance and hikes from technology, as well as earnings strength from the banks, are the main drivers for their rotation.

Here are the technology and banking stocks to buy from Deutsche Bank.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) has shown tremendous earnings strength, both domestically and around the world. The Deutsche Bank price target here is $53. The Thomson/First Call estimate is right in line at $53.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) recently received a vote of confidence for CEO and Chairman Jamie Dimon from none other than Warren Buffett. The Deutsche Bank target for the stock is $53, while the consensus is at $55.50. Investors receive a solid 3.20% dividend.

U.S Bancorp (NYSE: USB) is a Midwest mega-regional bank that makes the list. With its more than 3,000 branches in the Midwest and the West, earnings have been solid. The Deutsche Bank price objective is $38. Consensus is at $37. Investors are paid a 2.40% dividend.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) is another solid regional name to make the list. With shares recently hitting 52-week highs, the bank has seen solid insider purchasing. Deutsche Bank has a $17 target. The consensus estimate is at $18. Investors are paid a 2.60% dividend.

The PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: PNC) rounds out the bank stocks to buy. Led by CNBC regular and Wall Street favorite Jim Rohr, the bank has continued to raise earnings and dividends. Deutsche Bank has a $74 price target, while the consensus is at $72. Investors receive a 2.60% dividend.

Qualcom Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) leads off the technology stocks to buy. Qualcomm is a major force in the high-mobility business, selling the smarts in smartphones and the intelligence in tablets. Deutsche Bank has a $78 price target. The consensus for the name is $76. Investors are paid a 2.20% dividend.

EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) is the leader in storage and also a majority owner of cloud software company VMWare Inc. (NYSE: VMW). Deutsche Bank has a $28 price target. The consensus target for the stock is higher at $29.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) makes the list. With everything from Internet search domination to Google Glass to YouTube, this may be the leading technology stock to own for years to come. Deutsche Bank has a $930 price target. The consensus is at $900.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (NASDAQ: CTSH) provides information technology (IT), consulting and business process outsourcing services worldwide. Deutsche Bank has a $92 price target, while the consensus is at $86.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) completes the list of tech stocks to buy. Big Blue has become the preeminent technology services company in the world. The Deutsche Bank price objective is $225. The consensus is right in line at $225. Investors are paid a 1.90% dividend.

Clearly the Deutsche Bank list is dominated by mega-cap stocks that are the leaders in their respective sectors. Investors, especially those with a long-term objective, can feel comfortable buying these stocks at this level. It may be wise to buy half positions now, and see if we do indeed experience the 5% pullback that Deutsche Bank expects.

The conglomerate is set to report earnings on Friday ahead of the annual meeting, but earnings do not really matter here. Mr. Buffett has said over and over that Berkshire Hathaway could make its earnings magically go up or down based upon purchase or sale transactions. He maintains over and over that the book value per share is what really matters here. As always, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B) and Warren Buffett’s latest full stock holdings can be tracked here.

These are the portfolio changes that 24/7 Wall St. believes Mr. Buffett and portfolio managers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler have made ahead of the annual meeting.

Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM) was a new position at the last report and with Buffett giving more investing money of about $1 billion to Ted Weschler and Todd Coombs lately, our bet is that this position has been added to. ADM was a new position of 5.95 million shares worth some $163.1 million as of the end of 2012.

DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) was already more than a 10% stake and the firm keeps raising its stake. Frankly, we would not be shocked if this company was just acquired outright down the road by Berkshire Hathaway.

DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) has been added to and we see no reason that the latest stake of almost 34 million shares would not be added to yet again. The satellite TV provider is up 16% year to date, just hit a new high on Friday and is up by close to 4% since the end of the first quarter.

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) has been added to before. It is possible that Buffett is adding to the stake here, although he would likely want to buy these at a discount in the government offering of “Government Motors” stock rather than in the open market.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) is going to likely keep growing for Berkshire Hathaway as the company keeps buying back stock and recently raised its dividend. Warren Buffett told CNBC, “I won’t be a seller of IBM.” This was over 68 million shares last quarter for a 6.03% stake, and our bet is that Buffett added a bit to it after the stock went on sale after a poor earnings report.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is likely to be void entirely now in the Berkshire Hathaway stock portfolio. This was a mere 327,100 shares last time and has shrunk through time. The stake is so small that it was likely just not exited right before the end of the last quarter.

Moody’s Corp. (NYSE: MCO) has been confirmed that the stock holding is shrinking here. Berkshire Hathaway recently sold off about 1.7 million shares of . The position is very profitable for the conglomerate despite the woes of the past for the ratings agency. Buffett’s stake is still over 26 million shares.

Precision Castparts Corp. (NYSE: PCP) was a larger stake last quarter at roughly 2 million shares versus being a new position of 1.25 million shares in the prior quarter. If the new portfolio managers have new funds, they may have added to this even the stock has been range-bound so far in 2013.

Berkshire Hathaway keeps adding over and over to its position of Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) and we expect that to have continued in the first quarter. What is perhaps more interesting is that Bloomberg showed a video with Warren Buffett praising J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) and CEO Jamie Dimon. Buffett told Bloomberg that he is in full 100% support of Jamie Dimon and his dual role as CEo and Chairman.

A low-end version of the Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) Lumia may be Microsoft Corp.’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) best opportunity to get share in the mobile sector. (Reuters)

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CPFB) will investigate car lending companies over certain questionable practices. (Reuters)

Its property and casualty business pushes American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) results higher. (Reuters)

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) picks it chief operating officer to lead the company and disappoints investors who want change to move the firm beyond PCs. (Reuters)

CEO Ivan Glasenberg of the newly merged Glencore Xstrata says layoffs are critical to his plans. (WSJ)

Verizon Communication Inc.’s (NYSE: VZ) chief executive officer says Verizon Wireless may not pay its annual dividend to Verizon or Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ: VOD) in the hope Vodafone will sell its shares. (WSJ)

The Reserve Bank of India cuts its rate to 7.25%. (WSJ)

Barnes & Noble Inc.’s (NYSE: BKS) Nook will start to run Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) apps. (WSJ)

Shares of LinkedIn Corp. (NYSE: LNKD) fall on a weak outlook. (WSJ)

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi says the bank may decide to ease more after it cut its key rate to 0.5%. (WSJ)

The average home price in 100 of China’s largest cities moved up by the higher rate in a year-and-a-half. (WSJ)

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) discussions with Lenovo about selling its server division fail. (WSJ)

Market share improvement in North America, Asia and Europe push General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) shares higher. (WSJ)

A slew of regulatory issues badly damage J.P. Morgan & Co.’s (NYSE: JPM) role as the premier bank in the United States. (NYT)

Michael Bloomberg’s positive comments about the Financial Times cause more speculation he might buy it. (NYT)

Commercial mortgage trading by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac comes under scrutiny. (FT)

Siemens A.G. (NYSE: SI) cuts its forecast, which may pressure its CEO to leave. (Bloomberg)

Shoe company Adidas posts record profits. (Bloomberg)

Last week, IBM reported its first quarterly earnings miss in eight years, and the company said at the time that it would spend $1 billion cutting jobs among its workforce as a way to reduce expenses. The memo to CDI claims that IBM’s reduction in hours is intended to “retain as many CDI resources as possible for future work.”

Neither IBM nor CDI responded to requests for comment on the memo. At this time, the reduction in hours only applies to the second quarter of 2013. CDI employees make be exempted from the 36-hour rule upon written authorization from IBM management.

Shares of CDI are down more than 6% at $13.82 after posting a new 52-week low of $13.58 earlier today. The stock’s 52-week high is $18.23.

IBM’s shares are up about 0.8% at $201.12 in a 52-week range of $181.85 to $215.90.

CNN Money reports on the Lenovo-IBM talks:

News of the negotiations surfaced last month in various publications and were confirmed by Fortune. Bloomberg put the value of the potential deal, which would cover IBM’s sale of its so-called x86 server business, at between $2.5 billion and $4.5 billion. Others suggested IBM was seeking as much as $6 billion. Lenovo is said to have balked at the price tag for the business, which generates close to $5 billion in sales, or about a third of IBM’s overall server revenue, according to estimates.

Shares of IBM are down fractionally in premarket trading to $199.60. The 52-week range is $199.20 to $202.17.

The Markit Eurozone Manufacturing PMI report did not have a single good thing in it. Not only did the region’s activity contract, it also contracted in most of the eurozone’s largest nations by gross domestic product. Along with a string of data about financial trouble, high unemployment, falling wages and labor unrest, the report will used by many proponents of austerity to prove their case. Europe needs stimulus to be lifted out of what could be the second deep recession in five years.

The Markit PMI report said:

Eurozone manufacturing started the second quarter of 2013 on a weak footing, with conditions in the sector deteriorating at the sharpest pace in the year-to-date.

At 46.7 in April, down slightly from 46.8 in March, the seasonally adjusted Markit Final Eurozone Manufacturing PMI signalled contraction for the twenty-first successive month — despite edging up from the earlier flash estimate of 46.5.

All of the national PMI indices signalled contraction in April. Rates of decline accelerated in Germany, Ireland and Austria, but eased in France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Greece. The four worst performing nations nonetheless remained France, Italy, Greece and Spain

The fact that France could be mentioned in the same sentence as Greece and Spain is the most unsettling of all the data.

Lenovo-IBM Talks End

Chinese computer firm Lenovo will not buy the troubled server division of International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM). The unit is considered one of IBM’s worst performers. The U.S. firm would have been well rid of it. As usual with most corporate sales negotiations, the breaking point of the talks was price. CNN Money reports on the Lenovo-IBM talks:

News of the negotiations surfaced last month in various publications and were confirmed by Fortune. Bloomberg put the value of the potential deal, which would cover IBM’s sale of its so-called x86 server business, at between $2.5 billion and $4.5 billion. Others suggested IBM was seeking as much as $6 billion. Lenovo is said to have balked at the price tag for the business, which generates close to $5 billion in sales, or about a third of IBM’s overall server revenue, according to estimates.

Ford Pickup Sales

Sales of the Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) F-150 flagship pickup have surged so strongly that the U.S. car company will add workers to build more of them. Analysts have noted that much of the increase of sales in the American market this year is due to light trucks, SUVs and pickups. Most get poor gas mileage, so the trend is hard to explain. When Ford reported April sales, it noted:

Sales of America’s best-selling pickup, the Ford F-Series increased 24 percent, with 59,030 pickups sold. This represents F-Series best April sales results since 2006. It also is the 21st straight monthly sales increase for F-Series — with sales up 19 percent year to date.

USA Today reported on the Ford jobs added:

Spurred by a booming market for fullsize pickups, Ford Motor says it will add a third crew of 900 workers at the suburban Kansas City factory that builds F-150 pickups.

“Fullsize truck sales are growing three times as fast as the industry,” says Joe Hinrichs, Ford Motor executive vice president and president of The Americas. “There’s strong (economic) growth and housing starts are up.”

And:

Ford also confirmed it will begin production late this year of its Transit fullsize van at the Kansas City assembly plant, located at Claycomo, Mo. That will add more than 1,000 jobs there.

After years of huge layoffs, this news is a modest victory for car workers.

Glencore continues to push to buy Xstrata. (Reuters)

Facebook Inc.’s (NASDAQ: FB) mobile business shoots up in the first quarter. (Reuters)

Industrial giant Siemens A.G. (NYSE: SI) lowers forecasts based on a weakening economy. (Reuters)

Royal Dutch Shell PLC (NYSE: RDS-A) CEO Peter Voser to retire next year. (WSJ)

The Federal Reserve will continue its $85 billion a month bond buying, encouraged in part by low global inflation. (WSJ)

Federal regulators want banks to hold higher levels of capital to guard against unexpected, negative events. (WSJ)

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) says it will increase production of its flagship F-150. (WSJ)

Talks about Lenovo buying the International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) server group end. (WSJ)

The home price increase trend in China picks up. (WSJ)

Management of Google Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) YouTube say audience has increased to one billion unique users who watch six billion hours of video a month. (WSJ)

The Defense Department will give security approvals to some Samsung devices and the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone and iPad. (WSJ)

CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) profits are helped by Super Bowl advertising. (WSJ)

Eastman Kodak files to leave bankruptcy. (WSJ)

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) hopes to get approval of the 777 for longer range service. (NYT)

Research firm IDC reports tablet sales surged in the first quarter, while PC sales dropped, and the market share of Apple’s iPad fell. (FT)

BMW’s results beat expectations. (Bloomberg)