Friday, February 27, 2009

Warren Buffett's Letter to the Shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway 2009 (BRK.A)

UPDATE below.
Regular readers know that we are fans of Warren. I've got most of the annual reports, going back to the BKHT days. Whether it's the insurance operations, MidAmerican Energy and their largest utility-owned wind operations or just the wit and wisdom of Warren (and Charlie), I've found a lot of reasons to post on Mr. Buffett. Some of our links are below.
From MarketBeat:

Waiting for Warren

Berkshire Hathaway’s annual report, slated for release at 8 a.m. Eastern time Saturday, is expected to detail one of the worst years on record for the widely watched company, led by legendary investor Warren Buffett. The market tsunami wreaked havoc on Berkshire holdings such as Coca-Cola, US Bancorp, Wells Fargo, Moody’s and Washington Post, among others.

It was also a challenging year for Berkshire’s insurance outfits. Two major hurricanes, Ike and Gustav, caused significant damage to the Gulf Coast. It was the second costliest hurricane season on record, with damage estimated at $54 billion, according to the National Climatic Data Center. In 2005, massive storms such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused $128 billion in damage, resulting in a loss of more than $3 billion for Berkshire....MORE
If you are impatient, here's one of my favorite Warren posts:
Warren Buffett, Mr. Market and the Buffett Partnership Letters, 1959-1969 (BRK.A)
You might also be interested in (talk about an "If you're like me [and I know I am]" moment):

SEC Pressed on Climate-Change Disclosures and When will Warren Buffett get on Board the Love Train?*
Warren Buffett and the Chocolate Wars
How Buffett Made a Killing in Chocolate, And Warren's Letters to Shareholders
or use the 'Search Blog' box, keyword Warren.
UPDATE: Here is the major media coverage, I'll have the blog coverage later and my comment on Monday.