Welcome to Omaha! A Berkshire Hathaway weekend preview

Berkshire Hathaway is expecting a record turn-out for tomorrow’s annual meeting. The crowd-control paraphernalia—what do you call those metal divider things?—is all set up in front of the Qwest Center and ready to go. There’s plenty for shareholders to ask the Oracle—how his new bond insurance business is going, the deal for Wrigley, those rumors [...]

The Kiviat konspiracy

As you have probably noticed, I’m back from vacation, and Barbara Kiviat is still writing posts. That was partly already in the works because she’s going to the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting this weekend, but I’ve also asked her to keep on writing here whenever the mood strikes her, and she has agreed. I haven’t [...]

So just what kind of ‘recession-like episode’ are we in?

The phrase is Brad DeLong’s, and I like it. The latest indicators, out this morning, are the April payroll employment (down 20,000, after seasonal adjustments) and unemployment rate (5%, down from 5.1% in March). That’s better than most economic forecasters expected, but it’s entirely possible the payroll number will be revised to -100,000 (or even [...]

It’s raining in Omaha

Got in last night for the big Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. They’re expecting more than 30,000 people this year, up from about 27,000 last, and way up from the 450 who showed up in 1986 or the 7,500 who came in 1996. Even though it’s raining,there’s that Warren Buffett/Charlie Munger excitement in the air. Last [...]

The good times are still rolling in Asia

So maybe the Great Decoupling thesis wasn’t nonsense. Reports Time’s Michael Schuman from Hong Kong: Finding an empty table at a Starbucks in Hong Kong on a Sunday afternoon these days feels like winning the lottery. So does getting a reservation at a good dim sum restaurant or renting an affordable apartment. While the U.S. [...]