Among firms that had IPOs recently, the short interest in Zynga (NASDAQ: ZNGA) rose 35% to 56.6 million. Shares sold short in Groupon (NASDAQ: GRPN) rose 19% to 20.7 million. Both companies have been under attack because many investors believe that they cannot sustain sales in a market in which the number of competitors is multiplying quickly.

Among Web 1.0 firms, the short interest in Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) was up 23% to 25.6 million. Although the firm has been able to make progress with its Asian assets, its core portal business is in trouble, and it recently replaced another CEO. Shares short in eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) rose 19% to 16.6 million.

Among other tech stocks, the short interest in Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), which continues to struggle in the critical mobile industry, rose 25% to 87 million. Shares sold short in badly wounded Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) rose 18% to 53.4 million. The short interest in Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) rose 8% to 35.4 million shares.

Other companies with weak prospects hit by short sellers included Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK); shares sold short rose 27% to 85.2 million. There are questions about the CEO’s practice of investing individually in some of the firm’s drilling projects. Shares short in Sprint-Nextel (NYSE: S) rose 20% to 116.7 million. The third-largest wireless company continues to lose ground to AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon Wireless.

Short interest in major banks also rose as worries about Europe’s finances and new regulations pushed share prices down. Shares sold short in Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) rose 6% to 150.7 million. The short interest in Citigroup (NYSE: C) rose 16% to 35.5 million. Shares sold short in Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) moved higher by 11% to 36 million.

Douglas A. McIntyre

The admission of a $2 billion loss due to improper hedging losses was one thing from J.P. Morgan.  The problem is that Jamie Dimon signaled that the losses could widen out further in the months ahead.  Ultimately the bank will be out of those trades, but these are apparently illiquid enough that the bank cannot simply say “market-sell order” to another trading desk.  J.P. Morgan Chase also has exposure to Europe and elsewhere at a time when BRIC growth has been slowing substantially and while Europe is in meltdown mode.

Wells Fargo is just more of a traditional bank that makes its money off of deposit management, client advisory services, brokerage, loans, and mortgages.  The bank also still trades at a premium to its book value of $25.45 as of March 31, 2012. Its share price is $31.37 after a 1.4% gain today and the 52-week range is $22.58 to $34.59.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) has now joined Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) and Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) in trading at substantial discounts to their prior book values.  As we have said over and over, book value is the ceiling right now rather than the floor. When investors believe that book values will be dropping or that a bank’s earnings power is drained, does book value even matter?  It is not as though the banks could auction off those assets and realize that price overnight.

The book value of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) was $47.60 at the end of the first quarter.  That compares to $46.59 the previous quarter and compares to $43.34 in the first quarter of 2011.  J.P. Morgan shares are down 2.6% at $32.62 after two broker downgrades today.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) reported that its stated book value is $19.83 per share, and its tangible book value was $12.87 per share.  BofA trades at $6.88 after a 2% drop today.

Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) reported that its book value was $61.90 on the stated value methodology and its tangible book value was $50.90 at the end of March.  Citi trades at $26.18 after a 0.6% gain today.

Jamie Dimon might still be the strongest CEO in the room, but as of now it is Wells Fargo that is the safest of the big money-center banks.

JON C. OGG

Also, keep in mind that portfolio managers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler are still new and those new positions of under $200 million $300 million are likely tied to them.

24/7 Wall St. has gone through line by line of each position to see which stocks have been bought and sold as new positions, as well as having added in whether or not the number of shares grew or shrank on each since the prior quarter. We had added some color in on some of the positions if applicable.

Be advised that the number of subsidiaries that this filing covers is 14 entities rather than 18 entities in the prior quarter. There is also a note in the 13F filing showing that the SEC has granted “Confidential Treatment” on some Berkshire stock holdings and that likely suggests that Buffett is still acquiring a position he does not want the public to know about yet. This filing does not signal the half-dozen or more European shares that Buffett said he bought so that remains an outstanding issue as well.

The value of the stock portfolio was $66,151,587,000 at the end of 2011 and this was listed as $75,300,250,000 at the end of March 2012.

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

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK) is now 5.6 million shares, HIGHER THAN the 1,793,915 shares last quarter.

CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS) is the SAME SIZE at 7.106 million shares after having been a new holding in a recent quarter and having been raised one quarter ago.

Coca Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) was right at 200 million shares, SAME AS BEFORE.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is roughly 29.1 million shares, roughly the SAME AS BEFORE but it is still lower than previous quarters in past reports.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) 4,333,363 Shares, SAME AS last quarter after having lowered it before.

Da Vita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) is now 6 million shares worth $541 million and that LARGER THAN BEFORE after having been a new position of 2.684 million shares.

DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) is a LARGER POSITION listed at 22.999 million worth over $1.13 billion. This one had been 20.348 million shares worth $870 million one quarter earlier and it had been a new position just two quarters ago at 4.249 million shares.

The Thursday disclosure of a loss of about $2 billion due to egregious failures in risk management now puts J.P. Morgan Chase in the same league as Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) and Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C).  Jamie Dimon has been the most vocal bank executive out there and this is not exactly going to help Dimon in any of his future arguments against more and more bank regulations.

Simon Johnson at MIT’s Sloan School of Management is shown here calling for the possibility of a resignation of Jamie Dimon.  Johnson went on to note that if any other company lost this much then the person responsible would be forced to resign.  He did note that it is not going to happen in banking where regulators move to oust Jamie Dimon.  Johnson is one of the voices calling for the break-up of the big banks

Dimon noted that this trade did not violate the Volcker Rule but it did violate the Dimon Principle.  What happens when your hedges are wrong hedges?  The loss could cost another $1 billion over the next quarter or two as well as the trade was called flawed synthetic credit derivatives which are volatile.

So, back to this call for a Dimon resignation.  Dimon remains one of the top executives out there in banking and in corporate America.  He was recently cleared to lift the common stock dividend and to buy back stock.  Dimon always said that he would buy stock back when its price made sense to do.  A drop of almost 8% down to $37.60 takes this banking stock down to prices not seen since February 16, 2012.  The dividend-adjusted closing price at the end of 2011 was $32.80.

There is another call for Dimon’s role of Chairman and CEO to be split as well.  AFSCME sent out an email noting, “After JP Morgan’s Jamie Dimon lost $2 Billion in risky trading, today, AFSCME issued a renewed call for the shareholders of JPM to end Dimon’s reign as Chairman and CEO and adopt an independent board chair.”  In short, the call is keep Dimon on as CEO but to bring in a new Chairman of the Board that is independent of the company.

Congressman Barney Frank (co-author of Dodd-Frank) has publicly said, “JP Morgan Chase, entirely without any help from the government has lost, in this one set of transactions, five times the amount they claim financial regulation is costing them. The argument that financial institutions do not need the new rules to help them avoid the irresponsible actions that led to the crisis of 2008 is at least $2 billion harder to make today.”

Jamie Dimon may have taken a body blow here, but the notion that this will cause his resignation seems very unlikely.  The next risk is the pending downgrade of more than 100 of the top global banks from Moody’s.

FBR was one of the firms which downgraded J.P. Morgan shares this Friday and the target was taken down to $37 from $50 previously.

JON C. OGG

When Team Buffett adds to a position, it is often in the new or relatively new positions already in the Buffett portfolio.  24/7 Wall St. has taken a look at the recent additional stake or new stake positions to see which shares that Mr. Buffett and his team of portfolio managers has likely added to along with some color and logic behind the move.

CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS) was a larger position as of the end of 2011 at 7.106 million shares after having been a new holding in a recent quarter.  This was worth about $280 million at the start of 2012 and it is up more than 10% since then and the market cap here is $58 billion.

Da Vita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) was previously listed as a new position of 2.684 million shares worth $203 million at the end of 2011 but that position is worth about 12% more.  This is the leader as a kidney dialysis provider.  If the health trends remain then this one is right up Buffett’s alley.

DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) was most recently listed as a larger position which was listed as 20.348 million shares worth $870 million at the end of 2011.  In a prior report we had it as a new position of 4.249 million shares one quarter earlier.  The share price alone is up over 13% from the value at the end of 2011.

Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG) is one of the stocks which we think Team Buffett would have liked to own much more of.  The rapid rise in the value of the dollar store trends as a secular theme was even noticed at Berkshire.  This was the same size at the end of 2011 at 4.497 million shares but this was a new position and a larger position and it seems that the price just appreciated too fast for Buffett and friends to add many shares.  Perhaps they participated in the most recent secondary offering, but that might not appear based on the cut-off dates.

General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD) was most recently a larger stake of 3.877 million shares worth $257 million after being listed as a new position just one quarter earlier before of 3.064 million shares.  These shares are hardly higher than the end of 2011, so perhaps Buffett and team have added to the stake on weakness.

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) was a larger of 11.495 million shares worth $278 million at the end of 2011; this was a new position of 9.333 million shares last quarter.  Shares are up 16% so far in 2012, so Buffett’s stake here may have grown in size and in value.

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) is one that Buffett already hinted at owning more of, but perhaps that is due to IBM’s share float shrinking from its buybacks.  The most recent filing showed some 63.905 million shares worth some $11.75 billion now after having been a new position with an average cost of about $170 per share.  Buffett’s bet has been worth more than a 10% unrealized gain ($1 billion or so) on what is now one of his largest positions.

Liberty Media Corporation (NASDAQ: LMCA) was a new position of 1.7 million shares worth some $132.7 million.  If Buffett is involved much here, it is under his new portfolio managers. Shares are up about 6% this year so far but it is unknown what the real goal or strategy is here when you consider the DirecTV angle.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) was most recently listed as a larger position of 2.865 million shares worth $291 million at the end of 2011.  This was listed as 2.291 million shares in the previous quarter.  The company has a near-duopoly and market strength and history that it seems just like a Buffett dream.  He likes banks, but owning the toll road providers for the theme of consumers using less cash and more card swipes in the years ahead.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is almost certainly a larger stake.  The reason for believing that is that Wells Fargo seems to be a position which grows in size infinitely and it was raised during the prior filing period to more than 383 million shares.  As of Friday’s closing bell, that stake (assuming no share count growth at all) would be worth a shopping $12.65 billion.

It is unlikely that Buffett would have added to each and every position.  He just doesn’t do that and his new team may be more interested in adding on other new targeted stocks on the books.

Again, here is the FULL BUFFETT STOCK HOLDINGS.

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JON C. OGG

Gasoline Prices Fall

The widely followed Lundberg Survey showed that gasoline prices fell 6.75 cents to $3.8452 a gallon for the average price of regular, based on national samples. The data for was the period that ended May 4. After a brief pause, the cost of gas has begun to move lower again. It likely will continue. WTI dropped briefly below $100 last year. Most economists think that the fight over austerity in Europe will go on for months, as many nations slip further into recession. And Greece could still leave the European Union, which would likely drive it into depression. The fall-off in gross domestic product among many European nations is expected to hurt China’s export machine, which is another huge consumer of crude.

U.S. to Cut Stake in AIG

The U.S. government will cut its stake in AIG (NYSE: AIG) again. It plans to reduce its total piece of the company to 63%. The cost of the bailout to taxpayers have been calculated to be as high as $180 billion. Many experts believe that amount will never be recouped. However, Tim Massad, the U.S. Treasury assistant secretary for financial stability, said “We remain hopeful that taxpayers will ultimately recover every single dollar invested in the company, which is something few would have expected during the depths of the financial crisis.” At this point, that seems unlikely, based on the price of AIG’s stock. The Federal Reserve and Treasury supported an AIG bailout in 2008 because its huge number of relationships with other financial firms would have caused catastrophic ripples through the credit system. The Treasury will sell the stock at $30.30, about 5% below where it has recently traded. AIG may buy back some of the shares on its own.

Barclays Online Bank

Barclays, the UK-based bank, has decided to move into the U.S. online bank business. The move is a mystery, given the competition from American banks, brokers and financial advisors. Barclays believes that being in the credit card industry gives it a platform to add customers. However, competitors Citgroup (NYSE: C), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) have many more card members. The “big four” American banks also have gathered deposits for years through their branch systems. They have successfully migrated many of those customers to Internet-based retail bank platforms. Barclays has little leverage to make this initiative successful.

Douglas A. McIntyre

But, competitors Citgroup (NYSE: C), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) have many more card members. The “big four” American banks have also gathered deposits for years through their branch systems. They have successfully migrated may of those customers to internet based retail bank platforms. Barclays has not leverage to make its initiative successful.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Prostate cancer and the issue of Buffett’s successor are likely first.  Will this cause shareholders to call for a more focused disclosure over who will take over as CEO? Even if so, every Berkshire Hathaway investor knows that Berkshire Hathaway is Warren Buffett and Warren Buffett is Berkshire Hathaway.  Our take: Buffett is likely to divulge his successor only when it is on his terms or when the decision must be announced.

The second issue is The Buffett Rule.  Most of the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders are not exactly middle class.  They are usually the one-percenters, at least they are for the A-Shares with that super-high share price.  Warren Buffett was met with a cold stare from the audience before when he defended Lloyd Blankfein at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) and it will be interesting to see how the audience reacts to any notion of paying higher taxes and their chief capitalist calling for Obama and Washington D.C. to increase the tax burden on the wealthy.

Read Also: Buffett’s Full Investment Holdings

While this may seem like a sideshow, the investments in International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) almost have to be a topic to bring up.  For years Mr. Buffett has shied away from technology.  A $10 billion bet or thereabouts has only grown in value and we all know that Buffett said he would never invest in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) because his close ties with Bill Gates would be construed as possessing knowledge that is too close to the situation.

It will be interesting to see if Buffett addresses relatively new positions such as DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) and Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG).  DaVita is the king of kidney dialysis and if that is not a captive market then no other market is captive.  Dollar General is one we have referred to over and over as benefitting from the secular trend of dollar stores as these stores are reaching up to grab customers from traditional retailers.

We would also expect to hear a little bit more about the investing decisions and input from Berkshire’s two new portfolio managers Ted Weschler and Todd Combs.

With extremely large stakes in Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) and with those positions now being up near highs again, it will be interesting to see if Buffett addresses these core holdings as keys to the core holdings with higher dividends.

Berkshire Hathaway’s A-shares closed on Thursday at $121,800 against a 52-week range of $98,952.00 to $123,578.00; and the B-shares closed at $81.26 against a 52-week range of $65.35 to $82.47.

JON C. OGG

Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) is down 3.7% today at $40.70.  Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE: STD) hit a new 52-week low this week and shares are down $0.01 at $6.02 today for its ADR in New York trading.  National Bank of Greece SA (NYSE: NBG) is up only $0.01 at $2.18 for its ADR in New York.

Meredith Whitney told Bloomberg today that first quarter bank results were boosted from one-time issues and that after a very dismal April it will be challenging in the second and third quarters of this year.  It is no wonder that investors are still betting against banks here in the United States when you see Europe in a mess and when you keep getting come-along analyst calls driving things down.

Bank of America Corporation has broken down back under $8.00 today to $7.93 after a 2.8% drop. That marks only the second time being under $8.00 for a lowest print on the day going back to early March and it is down from peak of just over $10.00 back on March 26.  Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) is down less than 1% today at $32.41 in late-day trading and that is down from almost $36.00 as recently as April 18.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is down 0.7% at $42.91 in late Thursday trading and this was a $46.00 stock at the start of April.  This one has held up better considering that it is one of the two healthiest U.S. banks in America.  Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is down 0.5% at $33.40 and still at a premium to its book value and down only $1.20 from its 52-week high of $34.59.

The long and short of the matter is that investors are still abandoning Bank of America even though the bank showed only a small exposure in total to the PIIGS in Europe.  The fear is either surrounding more mortgage woes or more European bank woes… or both.

JON C. OGG

Read The Most Powerful CEOs in America

Read The Least Powerful CEOs in America

The most powerful CEOs fall into three categories. The first are founders who are currently CEOs. They may, by themselves, or with other founders, have voting control over their companies. Larry Page of Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is the best example of this. He started the Internet search engine with Sergey Brin. Together with Google’s chairman Eric Schmidt, who they hired, the three hold shares that have nearly two-thirds of the company’s voting rights.

The next category is founders who no longer have the majority of the vote in their companies, but who have been in charge successfully for so long that their job security is not in question. Jeff Bezos at Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) is the best example of this group. He owns slightly less than 20% of the company that he started in 1994. This stake is greater than that of any other shareholder. But it is his status as founder and his tremendous success that ensure he will not be replaced unless he wishes to be.

The final category of powerful CEOs are relatives of founders. These CEOs inherited the voting rights, usually from their parents, and they use those rights to run the company for another generation. The best example of this is Brian Roberts of Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA), whose father started the company. By almost any measure, Comcast has done well financially and in the stock market. Even if it did not, Roberts would have his job.

24/7 Wall St. reviewed the corporate structure, governance and voting rights of the 500 largest companies by market cap. Based on a review of company proxies, we identified those companies where the CEO had voting control of the company or was the company’s founder. We then limited the universe to those companies with market cap in excess of $30 billion.

These are 24/7 Wall St.’s most powerful CEOs in America.