Friday, August 15, 2008

Berkshire adds NRG stake to portfolio (BRK.A)

I frequently think that keeping tabs on Warren Buffett is akin to what Kremlinologists did during the Cold War: figure out what a shadow means in the context of other shadows you've glimpsed or maybe, imagined. The man is a master at not tipping his hand:

...In all three transactions, Berkshire Hathaway sent the share-sale disclosures by regular mail, which didn't arrive in Hong Kong until nearly two weeks after the sale took place. That arrangement is acceptable under Hong Kong's securities law, though the Securities and Futures Commission said after Berkshire Hathaway's second disclosure last week that it would review the rules and consider making electronic disclosure compulsory.
...I am amused by the snail-mail notification bit. I don't think I'd win playing poker or bridge with Mr. Buffett, whether table-stakes or no-limit.
(well especially no-limit)
From the 1987 Letter to the Shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway:
In a world in which big investment ideas are both
limited and valuable, we have no interest in telling
potential competitors what we are doing except to the
extent required by law.  We certainly don't expect
others to tell us of their investment ideas.  Nor
would  we expect a media company to disclose news of
acquisitions it was privately pursuing or a journalist
to tell his competitors about stories on which he is
working or sources he is using.

In "Buffett succession plan at Berkshire gets a twist (BRK.A)" we had this clue:
David Sokol, widely considered among the top candidates to eventually replace Buffett as chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. announced on Tuesday that he plans to step down as chief of Berkshire's utility unit MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. He will remain chairman....
...Sokol was not immediately available for comment. He told the Omaha World-Herald that ending his 17-year run as MidAmerican chief executive will free him to work on acquisitions. MidAmerican operates several utilities and natural gas pipeline companies, and runs HomeServices of America, the No. 2 independent U.S. real estate brokerage.
In "Warren Buffett has Wind- New: 100.5 MW Worth, Total: 1231 MW (BRK.A)" we got another pointer.
Today MarketWatch informs us:
The investment vehicle of legendary investor Warren Buffett took a stake in NRG Energy Inc. in the second quarter.
Berkshire bought 3.24 million shares in NRG in the second quarter, worth $139 million. While NRG's stock was down 18.7% this year at the start of trading, the energy sector is considered a good investment by money managers right now. See full story
NRG shares rose 4% to $36.69....MORE
Posted by at