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Demand for private jets is way down and NetJets will lay off almost 500 pilots as a result -- almost 20% of its staff of 3,000 pilots. because of a decrease in demand. NetJets is a unit of investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway

Warren Buffett, the second richest man in the world and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A), doesn't have much faith in the future of print media. In an interview on CNBC's Nov. 3 "Squawk Box," following the announcement of his purchase of Burlington Northern (NYSE:BNI), Buffett was asked to comment on the future of news media, in particular newspapers and business news by "Squawk Box" co-host Becky Quick. Buffett is optimistic on the future of business news. "Our system has just gotten started," Buffett said. "I mean, we've had a couple of hundred years of progress, but we have not exhausted...

Stock-market champion Warren Buffett was identified this afternoon as a $2,400 donor to Houston Mayor Bill White’s U.S. Senate campaign in a note from White’s campaign otherwise touting his successes raising money online. White spokeswoman Katy Bacon said Buffett also is poised to give again to White if there’s a special-election runoff. Buffett, who hails from Nebraska, doesn’t show up on the Texas Ethics Commission Web site as a past donor to Texas candidates for state office, though he ponied up to Democratic presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama last year and to Democratic Senate candidates including Al Franken...

Ralph Nader has been many things: lawyer, consumer-rights bulldog, political activist and perennial third-party presidential candidate. He has now added a new title to his business card: fiction writer. His latest book, Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us!, is a 700-page populist fantasy in which a small group of billionaires and media moguls — led by Warren Buffett and including Ted Turner, George Soros, Bill Cosby, Yoko Ono and Phil Donahue — pool their massive resources to reform the U.S. With the help of a $15 billion war chest and a p.r. campaign starring a talking parrot, the group successfully...

Warren Buffett, the renowned investor and the world’s second richest man, told Senate Democrats that wealthy Americans need to pay higher taxes, giving Democrats something to mull as they address healthcare reform and soaring federal deficits. Senate Democrats met with Buffett for more than an hour over lunch Thursday, peppering him with questions about the economy, said lawmakers in attendance. “He said rich people are not paying enough taxes,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.). “It was interesting to see someone who is such an aggressive capitalist, who believes so much in our capitalist system, saying we’ve got the scales way...

Short seller Jim Chanos is bearish on major pharmecutical companies. Warren Buffett is long pharmaceuticals. This creates the interesting situation of the top long investor, Buffett, versus the top short investor, Chanos, being on opposites side of a major trade. Buffett owns more than 3.9 million shares of Sanofi Aventis and he holds 1.51 million shares of GlaxoSmithkline. Chanos recently told an Australian radio station: The US healthcare system is probably the most interesting large group of companies that are heading for major problems that we've seen in a long, long time. Healthcare is growing now at about 10 per...

IN nature, every action has consequences, a phenomenon called the butterfly effect. These consequences, moreover, are not necessarily proportional. For example, doubling the carbon dioxide we belch into the atmosphere may far more than double the subsequent problems for society. Realizing this, the world properly worries about greenhouse emissions. The butterfly effect reaches into the financial world as well. Here, the United States is spewing a potentially damaging substance into our economy — greenback emissions. To be sure, we’ve been doing this for a reason I resoundingly applaud. Last fall, our financial system stood on the brink of a collapse...

It seems my previous article has garnered a bit of criticism from someone I hold in rather high regard, indicating that perhaps I have been less than clear in my criticism. Let me be clear: There is nothing wrong with making a lot of money, and leveraging your wealth into making even more money! It doesn't surprise me that those with lots of money get "special dispensation" in the form of conversations with Treasury Secretaries and other members of the government. The "little people" - that is you and I - will never get that sort of treatment, simply because...

Designed to teach a new generation of American children about financial responsibility. Mr Buffett has agreed to lend his voice for a cartoon version of himself in a series called the Secret Millionaire's Club. Each episode will be three to five minutes long. "What better time to help educate our kids about financial responsibility," Mr Buffett said of the series which will be produced by a company called A Squared and is one of four new programmes the company is making. Mr Buffett, chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, is one of the world's most famous investors and famously auctions off...

Billionaire investor Warren Buffet has done it again – booking a $4.1bn (£2.5bn) paper profit on the $5bn he invested in Goldman Sachs at the height of the financial crisis. Mr Buffett, known as the "Sage of Omaha" for his money-making ability, has made the return in one of the bleakest periods for investing in decades, benefiting from the recent uptick in Goldman's share price. If that weren't enough, the 78-year-old is to star in a cartoon series – The Secret Millionaires' Club – to be shown on AOL's website, the aim of which is to teach children the basics...

... Buffett, a supporter of President Barack Obama during last year's election campaign, said a second economic stimulus package might be needed. The Obama administration says it does not see a need for a second stimulus yet. "I think a second one may well be called for. It is not a panacea. A stimulus is the right thing. You hope it doesn't get watered down," he said. He likened the first $787 billion stimulus package passed by Congress to "half a tablet of Viagra and then having also a bunch of candy mixed in --- it doesn't have really quite...

Warren Buffett doesn't see the "green shoots" Ben Bernanke and other bullish investors have spoken of in recent months. In fact, the billionaire investor believes the economic picture will grow darker before things improve. "Everything I see about the economy is that we have had no bounce," Buffett told CNBC anchor Becky Quick in a televised interview Wednesday. "There were a lot of excesses to be wrung out and that process is still under way, and it looks to me that it will be under way for quite awhile. In the annual report, I said that the economy would be...

SOME of America’s leading billionaires have met secretly to consider how their wealth could be used to slow the growth of the world’s population and speed up improvements in health and education. The philanthropists who attended a summit convened on the initiative of Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder, discussed joining forces to overcome political and religious obstacles to change. Described as the Good Club by one insider it included David Rockefeller Jr, the patriarch of America’s wealthiest dynasty, Warren Buffett and George Soros, the financiers, Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York, and the media moguls Ted Turner and Oprah...

Since I am still a young buck, I am often surprised to read past works of financial commentators who I respect very much and find that their commentary reflects present trends. I was directed by the excellent Felix Salmon to an article that Michael Lewis wrote in 1992 about Mr. Buffet's rescue of the troubled Salomon Brothers.  His windfall came out of the shareholders' pockets, since his cheap option dilutes the value of the existing shares. Although a few of them sued, the deal never met the popular resistance it deserved, mainly because it involved Buffett. Public feeling was that...

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) may have had the wind behind its back from its annual shareholder meeting, but that wind now may breaking wind. This was Warren Buffett’s first loss for a quarter since 2001. On a net loss basis, Berkshire Hathaway lost roughly $1.5 billion. While some charges and operations were lower, it was the big oil investment in ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) which Buffett went on and on about. The huge gains seen inWells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) and other financial stocks were hardly a footnote throughout the earnings. The company’s operating earnings were down...

Derivatives plague Berkshire. Buffett said at the shareholders' meeting last week that losses from defaults and bad bets on derivatives would cut into the company's profit and revenue. Berkshire's insurance business, like many other insurers, has written some contracts on derivatives, promising to pay its trading partners in the event of default on the underlying assets. Defaults had been rising sharply ever since the housing market and economy took a beating. The company's derivative-related losses totaled $986 million in the quarter, down 7.6% from the $1.1 billion of derivative losses the company suffered in the year-earlier quarter. The recession has...

Last fall, Obama's campaign commercials touted his endorsement from iconic investor Warren Buffett. In his speeches, he referred to "my friend Warren Buffett" and said, "Warren Buffett is one of those people that I listen to." In the third presidential debate, Obama agreed with McCain's suggestion that "Warren would make a pretty good choice" for Treasury Secretary.

May 4, 2009 Warren Buffett's Sudden Disenchantment by MrArbitrage

Billionaire Warren Buffett says most of the banks the U.S. government is evaluating with stress tests are not too big to fail. Buffett says he's not sure how the government will handle the situation when the results of the stress tests are released, but he doesn't think the government should rule out the failure of most of the banks. Buffett says all but the four biggest banks the government is examining could be sold and should not be considered too big to fail. Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway's vice chairman Charlie Munger held a news conference Sunday a day after 35,000...

Berkshire's stock has fallen 39 percent since December 2007, but Buffett said no stock buybacks are planned because Berkshire's share price is not "demonstrably below" the company's intrinsic value. Profit fell 62 percent last year. Buffett offered a gloomy forecast for parts of the economy and Berkshire itself, saying some units are laying off workers as managers "look at the reality of the current situation." Warren Buffett told a record crowd at a somber annual meeting of his Berkshire Hathaway Inc that first-quarter operating profit fell and the company's book value declined 6 percent, as the recession hurt many of...

OMAHA, Nebraska (Reuters) - Warren Buffett is fond of newspapers -- he reads five a day -- but the billionaire investor warned shareholders of his Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) (BRKb.N) that the reeling industry may never recover because it lacks a sustainable business model. At Saturday's annual meeting of Berkshire, which owns the Buffalo News and has a big stake in Washington Post Co (WPO.N), Buffett said that as readership falls, so does the attraction of newspapers for advertisers, and for investors in the companies that publish them. "For most newspapers in the United States, we would not buy them...

U.S. newspaper businesses face the possibility of "unending losses" and Berkshire Hathaway wouldn't invest in the industry "at any price," Chairman Warren Buffett told shareholders on Saturday. "They were the ultimate business 30 or 40 years ago," Buffett explained at the company's annual meeting. "They lost their essential nature." Berkshire owns a large stake in the Washington Post Co. (WPO) and owns the Buffalo News. The Buffalo News is trying to develop a business model that allows it to make a little money, with the help of its unions, Buffett said. The Washington Post has other attractive businesses, but it...

When Warren Buffett speaks, it’s usually worth paying attention. This time, the Oracle of Omaha is voicing concerns about the ability of some battered local and state governments to pay off their debts. The idea of cities and states facing insolvency is alarming for sure, and Buffett isn’t alone. Moody’s recently assigned a “negative outlook” to the creditworthiness of all the nation’s local governments. The agency has rarely made such a sweeping generalization but said the magnitude of this recession warranted the move. The comments are the latest to have shaken the once-staid world of municipal bond investing. Traditionally, muni...

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has been lauded for his plainspoken denunciation of the greed and foolishness behind the economic crisis. He’s pushed the massive federal bailout of imploding banks as the essential response to an “economic Pearl Harbor.” When Buffett speaks, people in high places listen. He’s so highly regarded that in a fall debate, both presidential candidates said they’d consider him for Treasury secretary. A Sacramento Bee examination of regulatory records has found that his extensive holdings in financial firms have made Buffett, the world’s second-wealthiest person behind Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, one of the top beneficiaries of the...

Warren Buffett big beneficiary of bank bailout funds By Charles Piller Apr. 4, 2009 - 6:08 pm Financier Warren Buffett has been lauded for his plain-spoken denunciation of the greed and foolishness behind the economic crisis. He has pushed the massive federal bailout of imploding banks as the essential response to an "economic Pearl Harbor." When Buffett speaks, people in high places listen. The famous investor is so highly regarded that in a debate last fall, both presidential candidates said they were considering him for treasury secretary. A Bee examination of regulatory records shows that Buffett, the world's second-wealthiest person,...

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- General Re Corp., a reinsurance unit of billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc., agreed to pay $72 million to settle investor claims about its role in a fraudulent transaction involving American International Group Inc. The settlement was announced Wednesday by Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray, who led the lawsuit on behalf of three Ohio pension funds. The settlement requires approval by a federal judge in Manhattan.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway was stripped of its 'AAA' credit rating by Fitch, barely hours after S&P cut General Electric's top-tier rating, as the global financial crisis pummels America's corporate titans. Warren Buffett CNBC.com Warren Buffett Citing concerns about Berkshire's [BRK 83150.00 -2550.00 (-2.98%) ] equity and derivatives investments, as well as Buffett's tight grip on the company, ratings agency Fitch cut the insurance and investment company's issuer default rating by one notch to 'AA+'. The downgrade is another setback to Buffett, 78, coming a day after the billionaire lost his position as the world's richest man to Microsoft [MSFT...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp founder Bill Gates is the richest man again, overtaking investor Warren Buffett, as the global financial meltdown wiped out $2 trillion from the net worth of the world's billionaires, Forbes Magazine said on Wednesday. The number of billionaires in the world fell by nearly a third to 793 in the past year, with large numbers dropping off the list in Russia, India and Turkey. Gates regained his title as the richest man in the world, with $40 billion after slipping to third last year when he was worth $58 billion. Buffett, last year's richest...

Warren Buffett has waded into the debate about a cap-and-trade system for slowing greenhouse gas emissions in the United States — something for which President Obama is pushing hard. Interviewed today on CNBC (transcript), Mr. Buffett responded to a question about cap-and-trade by saying that regulated utilities would pass the costs on to customers, effectively resulting in a carbon tax. “In the utility business, it’s going to be borne by customers. And it’s a tax like anything else,” he said. Mr. Buffett, the chief executive of the conglomerate holding company Berkshire Hathaway, also said that the “tax is probably going...

CNBC's Jim Cramer said the Government "should not nationalize banks" as he discussed the economy on The Today Show this morning, March 10, 2009. Erin Burnett also joined in the discussion. Jim Cramer also wondered why the White House is not going after Warren Buffett, who made comments yesterday about how the White House cannot expect unity when they are "kicking the minority party around." Cramer was also asked to respond to The Daily Show's Jon Stewart who actively attacked Cramer last night in defense of Barack Obama. The attack by Stewart on Cramer is shown in this video. ....

Obama supporter, campaign economic adviser and super-rich guy Warren Buffett says he is against 'card-check'; "Let's make it a perfectly flat statement" Buffet said on CNBC this morning. Just last week at a posh hotel in Miami Florida both President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden told the AFL-CIO that they were behind the 'card-check' bill, known officially as the Employee Free Choice Act. In July of last year, Obama touted Buffett as one of his "core economic advisors" in an interview with Tom Brokaw on NBC's Meet the Press. Card-check is legislation that makes it easier for employers...

After saying the economy has “fallen off a cliff,” legendary investor Warren Buffett this morning rapped political leaders for not being united enough in dealing with what he called an “economic Pearl Harbor” about six months ago. Buffett, who supported Barack Obama in the election, didn’t let Democrats skate, but he particularly singled out the GOP. “They really do have an obligation to support things that are clearly designed to fight the war in a big way,” Buffett said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” this morning. “I think that the Republicans have an obligation to recognize this as an economic war...

Warren Buffett, the US investor dubbed the Sage of Omaha, continues to be a cheerleader for equities despite recent spectacular misjudgments on the timing of his buy and hold philosophy. In a wide ranging interview with the CNBC television todayhe insisted that over 10 years, "you will do considerably better owning a group of equities" than US treasury bonds. This echoed his comments to the New York Times in Oct­ober that he was buying US equities. Since then the Dow Jones industrial average has fallen by over 26% and more than 2,300 points as it tests lows which have not...

Warren Buffett said on Monday the U.S. economy had "fallen off a cliff" but would eventually recover, although a rebound could kindle inflation worse than that experienced in the late 1970s. Speaking on CNBC television, the 78-year-old billionaire investor also said the economy was mere hours away from collapse last September when credit markets seized up, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc went bankrupt and insurer American International Group Inc got its first bailout. "The world almost did come to a stop," he said. Buffett spoke nine days after telling shareholders of his insurance and investment company Berkshire Hathaway Inc that...

He just said it live on CNBC...deflected it before but Joe Kernen asked again...Warren Buffett "I'm against card check" Here is posting from CNBC blog: 8:33a: Buffett says union elections should continue to be by secret ballot. He is opposed to the "card check" proposal for worker votes on joining unions.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation sold 36,056 Class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKA, BRKB), the holding company run by famed value investor Warren Buffett. According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Gates Foundation sold the shares from Jan. 5 through Thursday for a total of $99.7 million, or $2,766.66 a share. Berkshire Hathaway's Class B shares closed on Friday at $2,327.

On Monday, March 9th, Billionaire investor Warren Buffett will join CNBC's Becky Quick live from Omaha for a special edition of CNBC's signature morning show, "Squawk Box" (6AM-9AM ET). For three hours, the Oracle of Omaha will answer viewer's questions about Berkshire Hathaway's performance, the markets and the economy. To submit questions email askwarren@cnbc.com or go to CNBC.com and click on "Ask Warren." For more information go to: buffettwatch.cnbc.com.

IN LETTER, ORACLE ADMITS TO ERRORS IN WORST-EVER '08 Warren Buffett admitted to doing some "dumb things" in 2008 - the worst year for Berkshire Hathaway in the 44 years he has run it. A brutal stock market decline amid a teeth-gnashing recession pushed Omaha-based Berkshire to a 96% drop in profits, its fifth straight quarterly earnings decline. Buffett, known as the Oracle of Omaha for his decades-long record of picking value investments, said buying ConocoPhillips shares when gas and oil prices were at their peak was perhaps the dumbest move in 2008. Berkshire bought 84.9 million shares at $82...

Berkshire Hathaway Inc, Warren Buffett's insurance and investment company, barely broke even in the fourth quarter because of losses on derivatives contracts tied to the stock market. Skip related content Profit fell 96 percent, the fifth straight quarterly decline, and Berkshire's net worth tumbled $10.9 billion (7.64 billion pounds) in the year's final three months. Net worth per share fell 9.6 percent in 2008, only the second decline since Buffett began running Berkshire in 1965. It fell 6.2 percent in 2001. In his eagerly anticipated annual letter to Berkshire shareholders, Buffett also offered a gloomy economic outlook, saying "the economy...

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett predicted Saturday that "the nation's economy will be in shambles throughout 2009" and probably "well beyond." In his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shareholders, Buffett said the credit crisis and falling housing and stock prices have led to "paralyzing fear."

Warren E. Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway investment fund and holding company and possibly still the world's richest person, released his annual shareholders letter moments ago, in which he says, "during 2008 I did some dumb things in investments." "I made at least one major mistake of commission and several lesser ones that also hurt," he said. "Furthermore, I made some errors of omission, sucking my thumb when new facts came in that should have caused me to re-examine my thinking and promptly take action." That "major mistake," Buffett writes, was the purchase of millions of shares of ConocoPhillips oil...

Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett told shareholders Saturday that 2008 was the company's worst year on record... In his annual letter, Buffett said neither he nor Charlie Munger, his partner in running Berkshire, can predict winning and losing years in advance, and that no one else can. "We're certain, for example, that the economy will be in shambles throughout 2009 - and, for that matter, probably well beyond... Buffett said: "Economic medicine that was previously meted out by the cupful has recently been dispensed by the barrel. These once-unthinkable dosages will almost certainly bring on unwelcome aftereffects.

"All good things must come to an end, but all bad things can continue forever." -- Unknown Last week, I suggested that Warren Buffett's star was crashing back to earth. Barron's Senior Editor Andrew Bary penned a similar piece over the weekend. Armed with some additional information, I have made tentative conclusions regarding the intrinsic value of Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK.A Quote - Cramer on BRK.A - Stock Picks) common shares. At year-end 2007, Berkshire's investment portfolio had a cost of $39.2 billion and a market value of $75 billion. Since the end of third quarter 2008, the value of Berkshire's...

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett says the U.S. is engaged in an "economic Pearl Harbor." In an interview that aired Sunday on "Dateline NBC," the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said the nation's economic situation is not as bad at World War II or the Great Depression, but it's still pretty severe. "You couldn't have anybody better in charge," the Omaha resident said of Obama, who'll be sworn into office on Tuesday. As one of Obama's economic advisers, Buffett said the president-elect listens to what his advisers say, but ultimately comes up with better ideas. He predicted that Obama...

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Billionaire investor Warren Buffett says the U.S. is engaged in an "economic Pearl Harbor." In an interview that aired Sunday on "Dateline NBC," the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said the nation's economic situation is not as bad at World War II or the Great Depression, but it's still pretty severe. Buffett said Americans are in a cycle of fear, "which leads to people not wanting to spend and not wanting to make investments, and that leads to more fear. We'll break out of it. It takes time." Buffett's interview centered on President-elect Barack...

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Billionaire investor Warren Buffett says the U.S. is engaged in an "economic Pearl Harbor." In an interview that aired Sunday on "Dateline NBC," the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said the nation's economic situation is not as bad at World War II or the Great Depression, but it's still pretty severe. ADVERTISEMENT Buffett said Americans are in a cycle of fear, "which leads to people not wanting to spend and not wanting to make investments, and that leads to more fear. We'll break out of it. It takes time." Buffett's interview centered on President-elect...

Obama's Billionaires Claire Obusan President-elect Barack Obama has had a slew of billionaire backers with him on his journey to the White House--plutocrats who provide economic and political advice and help to raise money. Lots of money. Obama's Billionaire Buddies Obama's national finance chairwoman during his presidential campaign was Penny Pritzker, one of 11 members of the famous Chicago family that appear on the Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans (combined net worth as of September: $21.6 billion). As of Nov. 24, 2008, Obama's campaign had raised a record-breaking $742 million during the election, according to the Center for...

Twenty of the largest listed companies in the world are sitting on a combined cashpile of $570bn, demonstrating how some of the world’s biggest groups retain substantial firepower in the current downturn. However, only 29 of the top 100 global companies by market value have net cash, according to analysis by the Financial Times. But those that do should be in a strong position in a severe downturn that is causing companies to scramble to conserve cash. The list is led by four financial institutions with Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway at the top with $106bn in net cash, defined as...

I can understand why Warren Buffett wanted to teach Nicole Buffett, who gets by on $40,000 a year she earns as an artist and reportedly goes without health insurance, that she should not act like a spoiled brat. But the punishment did not fit the crime. The letter he wrote Nicole seems especially cold: "I have not emotionally or legally adopted you as a grandchild, nor have the rest of my family adopted you as a niece or a cousin," the magazine quotes the letter as saying. "He signed the letter 'Warren'."