Every year, Warren Buffett auctions off a lunch date in his favorite New York City steakhouse to raise money for charity. The meet and greet and munch with Buffett is a very minor, albeit public, piece of the Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK. B ) chief's significant charitable giving philosophy. Buffett was actually caught on video this week by Forbes at the charitable lunching spot, as part of a larger discussion of Buffett's philanthropic legacy on the same week that Forbes released its much perused annual list of global billionaires. 
Share:  Every year, <span class="company">Warren Buffett</span> auctions off a lunch date in his favorite New York City steakhouse to raise money for charity. The meet and greet and munch with Buffett is a very minor, albeit public, piece of the Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK. B ) chief's significant charitable giving philosophy. Buffett was actually caught on video this week by Forbes at the charitable lunching spot, as part of a larger discussion of Buffett's philanthropic legacy on the same week that Forbes released its much perused annual list of global billionaires. Tweet this 

Morningstar's Bill Bergman recently analyzed Buffett's 2009 trading activity, including his top 10 stock holdings as of Dec. 31, 2009. Berkshire's top equity holding is still  Coca Cola (KO), where Buffett is the largest shareholder (and a board member); the list also includes Burlington Northern, the railroad Berkshire recently bought outright. (The deal didn't close until this year, so Burlington Northern was still publicly traded as of Dec. 31.) Essentially all of Buffett's stock holdings are big, stable, profitable companies with solid competitive advantages the same type of business he has always preferred. . Plenty of mutual fund managers are Buffett fans who emulate his investment approach in one way or another. 
Share:  <span class="sent">Morningstar's <span class="analyst">Bill Bergman</span> recently analyzed Buffett's 2009 trading activity, including his top 10 stock holdings as of Dec. 31, 2009.</span> Berkshire's top equity holding is still  Coca Cola (KO), where Buffett is the largest shareholder (and a board member); the list also includes <span class="company">Burlington Northern</span>, the railroad Berkshire recently bought outright. (The deal didn't close until this year, so <span class="company">Burlington Northern</span> was still publicly traded as of Dec. 31.) Essentially all of Buffett's stock holdings are big, stable, profitable companies with solid competitive advantages the same type of business he has always preferred. . Plenty of mutual fund managers are Buffett fans who emulate his investment approach in one way or another. Tweet this 

Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK. B ). CEO Warren Buffett again made the top three in the Forbes annual ranking of billionaires, but it wasn't Buffett's annual salary that secured his placement in the triumvirate of the world's richest people. The annual Berkshire Hathaway compensation figures were filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission late on Thursday, and as usual, Buffett took home a paltry $100,000 in annual compensation, with no stock options or grants to go along with it. In fact, Buffett's annual salary barely beat out the amount he is paid as a director on the board of The Washington Post Company ( WPO ). 
Share:  <span class="company">Berkshire Hathaway</span> ( BRK. B ). CEO Warren Buffett again made the top three in the Forbes annual ranking of billionaires, but it wasn't Buffett's annual salary that secured his placement in the triumvirate of the world's richest people. The annual <span class="company">Berkshire Hathaway</span> compensation figures were filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission late on Thursday, and as usual, Buffett took home a paltry $100,000 in annual compensation, with no stock options or grants to go along with it. In fact, Buffett's annual salary barely beat out the amount he is paid as a director on the board of The Washington Post Company ( WPO ). Tweet this 

"These are the kind of creative deals we've seen from Warren Buffett," Michael Breen , an analyst with Morningstar, said in a telephone interview. 
Share:  <span class="sent">"These are the kind of creative deals we've seen from Warren Buffett," Michael Breen , an analyst with Morningstar, said in a telephone interview.</span> Tweet this 

Looks like Warren Buffett is bullish about U.S. wine. He's buying a niche wine distribution company and it looks like he payed up to get it: . Wine and Spirits Daily: . 
Share:  Looks like <span class="company">Warren Buffett</span> is bullish about U.S. wine. He's buying a niche wine distribution company and it looks like he payed up to get it: . Wine and Spirits Daily: . Tweet this 

Brainware, Inc., the leading provider of intelligent data capture and enterprise search solutions, announced that CORT Business Services, a Berkshire Hathaway company, has successfully implemented the Brainware Distiller™ solution for North American invoice processing. CORT consolidated accounts payable (AP) operations for more than 60 distribution facilities across the country into a single shared service center using the Brainware solution. Previously, the entire AP process at CORT was manual, which resulted in errors and costly delays. 
Share:  Brainware, Inc., the leading provider of intelligent data capture and enterprise search solutions, announced that <span class="company">CORT Business Services</span>, a Berkshire Hathaway company, has successfully implemented the Brainware Distiller™ solution for North American invoice processing. CORT consolidated accounts payable (AP) operations for more than 60 distribution facilities across the country into a single shared service center using the Brainware solution. Previously, the entire AP process at CORT was manual, which resulted in errors and costly delays. Tweet this 

Investors have had a week to digest the annual report from Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK. B ). liked what they saw in the Berkshire Hathaway 2009 complete performance portrait. Berkshire Hathaway's B shares began the week trading at $80, and by the close on Friday, had reached $83.36. Readers of the famed annual letter from Warren Buffett also were given room to ruminate on the latest batch of quotable quotes from the Oracle of Omaha. 
Share:  Investors have had a week to digest the annual report from <span class="company">Berkshire Hathaway</span> ( BRK. B ). liked what they saw in the <span class="company">Berkshire Hathaway</span> 2009 complete performance portrait. <span class="company">Berkshire Hathaway</span>'s B shares began the week trading at $80, and by the close on Friday, had reached $83.36. Readers of the famed annual letter from Warren Buffett also were given room to ruminate on the latest batch of quotable quotes from the Oracle of Omaha. Tweet this 

… [H]uge sums forge their own anchor and our future advantage, if any, will be a small fraction of our historical edge." Buffett on how size can inhibit a firm's growth prospects, in the Berkshire Hathaway shareholder letter ."An investor's motto should be, 'Don't trust any government and verify before you invest.' The careful discrimination between sovereign credits is becoming more than casual cocktail conversation. A deficiency of global aggregate demand and the potential impotency of policymakers to close the gap are evolving into a life or death outcome for the weakest sovereigns, with consequences for credit and asset markets worldwide." PIMCO Total Return manager Bill Gross, on why some sovereign debt may begin to behave more like corporate debt, in his monthly investment commentary . 
Share:  … [H]uge sums forge their own anchor and our future advantage, if any, will be a small fraction of our historical edge." Buffett on how size can inhibit a firm's growth prospects, in the <span class="company">Berkshire Hathaway</span> shareholder letter ."An investor's motto should be, 'Don't trust any government and verify before you invest.' The careful discrimination between sovereign credits is becoming more than casual cocktail conversation. A deficiency of global aggregate demand and the potential impotency of policymakers to close the gap are evolving into a life or death outcome for the weakest sovereigns, with consequences for credit and asset markets worldwide."<span class="sent"> PIMCO Total Return manager <span class="analyst">Bill Gross</span>, on why some sovereign debt may begin to behave more like corporate debt, in his monthly investment commentary .</span>...… [H]uge sums forge their own anchor and our future advantage, if any, will be a small fraction of our historical edge." Buffett on how size can inhibit a firm's growth prospects, in the <span class="company">Berkshire Hathaway</span> shareholder letter ."An investor's motto should be, 'Don't trust any government and verify before you invest.' The careful discrimination between sovereign credits is becoming more than casual cocktail conversation. A deficiency of global aggregate demand and the potential impotency of policymakers to close the gap are evolving into a life or death outcome for the weakest sovereigns, with consequences for credit and asset markets worldwide."<span cl Tweet this 

Warren Buffett's letter to shareholders had plenty of great hits. But one of them is at "sound bite journalism." He explains how journalists mis communicate his messages: . 
Share:  <span class="company">Warren Buffett</span>'s letter to shareholders had plenty of great hits. But one of them is at "sound bite journalism." He explains how journalists mis communicate his messages: . Tweet this