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Saturday, April 30, 2022

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Warren Buffett is back on stage for the second half of the Berkshire annual meeting - CNBC

Buffett says inflation 'swindles almost everybody'

When asked about his previous comments that inflation "swindles" equity investors, Buffett said the damage from rising prices was much broader than that.

"Inflation swindles the bond investor, too. It swindles the person who keeps their cash under their mattress. It swindles almost everybody," he said.

Buffett pointed out that inflation also raises the amount of capital that companies need to have and that it isn't as simple as raising prices to maintain inflation-adjusted profits.

The Berkshire Hathaway CEO cautioned against listening to people who claim to be able to predict the path of inflation.

"The question is how much ... and the answer is nobody knows," Buffett said.

Buffett reiterated that the best protection against the inflation is investing in your own skills.

— Jesse Pound

Buffett wants to make it clear he's not the only one picking stocks at Berkshire Hathaway

Warren Buffett wants to make it clear that he's not the only one at Berkshire Hathaway picking stocks.

"I see headlines in papers just time after time after time that say, 'Buffett's buying such and such,'" Buffett said. "I'm not buying such and such. Berkshire Hathaway is buying."

The investor said a stock pick may have been made by other finance professionals in his organization without Buffett's ever having heard of it.

"But the headline will attract more people if it says Buffett buying this than if it says Berkshire Hathaway, and we don't know whether it is the people that work for him, the headline is designed to bring people into the story," Buffett said.

"The easiest thing to do is basically shut up and not have a bunch of people facing consequences they didn't ask for in the first place," he said.

— Sarah Min

Buffett describes his start to investing when he was 11 years old

A man walks a dog in the shade away from the midday sun past the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) building in Manhattan, during hot weather in New York City, New York, U.S., August 11, 2020.

Mike Segar | Reuters

A trip to the New York Stock Exchange when he was 9 years old was inspiring for Warren Buffett, who is known to have started investing when he was 11 years old.

"I went to the New York Stock Exchange, I was in awe of it," Buffett said. "I got very interested in technical analysis and charted stocks and did all kinds of crazy things, did hours and hours and hours and saved money to buy other stocks and tried shorting. I just did everything."

The investor bought a stock at 11 after spending his childhood reading books on the subject from the library and in his father's office. He said his approach to investing later changed completely when he was 19 or 20 years old after reading one particular book passage in what he said must have been Benjamin Graham's "The Intelligent Investor."

"I looked at this book and I saw one paragraph and it told me I've been doing everything wrong. I just had the whole approach wrong," Buffett said.

— Sarah Min

Munger says Robinhood is 'unraveling'

Charlie Munger pointed to commission-free brokerage Robinhood as an example of a good idea that got "grossly overdone."

The stock fell below $10 per share last week after the company announced layoffs and a decline in active users. It debuted at $38 per share in July 2021.

"Look what happened to Robinhood, from its peak to its trough," Munger said. "Wasn't it pretty obvious something like that was going to happen?"

Munger said the "hidden kickbacks" of that business model were "disgusting." Robinhood makes money from a practice known as a payment for order flow. It receives some of the spread on trades the company forwards to larger trading houses.

"It's unraveling. God is getting just," Munger said.

— Jesse Pound

Munger says 'just say no' to putting bitcoin in your retirement account

Charlie Munger is still down on bitcoin.

He responded to an audience member question asking what single stock they would invest in given how high inflation has been rising.

The Berkshire executives didn't say where they would put their money, but Munger was clear about where he wouldn't invest: bitcoin.

"When you have your own retirement account, and your friendly adviser suggests you put all the money in into bitcoin, just say no," he said.

Munger's answer was a thinly veiled reference to big news from Fidelity this week, which will now allow employees to put bitcoin into their employee-sponsored retirement accounts.

Munger and Buffett have both long been critics of bitcoin, which has become increasingly attractive to certain investors for its potential as an inflation hedge.

— Tanaya Macheel

Buffett says he has never been 'good at timing'

Warren Buffett said he has never figured out how to time the markets.

"We haven't the faintest idea what the stock market was gonna do when it opens on Monday," Buffett said in response to an audience question.

"I don't think we've ever made a decision where either one of us has either said or been thinking we should buy or sell based on what the market is going to do, or for that matter, on what the economy's going to do. We don't know," he continued.

The Oracle of Omaha said he often gets misplaced credit for the stock winners he's picked over the years, pointing out he's also missed out on some big opportunities as well. Buffett said he failed to make some big purchases in the early days of the pandemic. In a single day in March 2020, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 12.9%, its worst day since 1987.

Instead, Buffett adheres to a value investing strategy, or picking stocks with attractive valuations, instead of focusing on the vagaries of the stock market.

"We have not been good at timing," Buffett said. "We've been reasonably good at figuring out when we were getting enough for our money. And we had no idea when we bought anything, but we always hoped it would the down for a while so we could buy more. ... I mean, that stuff, you could you could learn in fourth grade."

— Sarah Min

Berkshire's head of insurance explains how Geico has fallen behind rival Progressive

Display showing Gecko character for GEICO Insurance during the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska.

Yun Li | CNBC

Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Ajit Jain, who runs all of the conglomerate's insurance businesses, lamented about how Geico has fallen behind rival Progressive in the car insurance business.

"Each one have their plusses and minuses, but having said that, there's no question that recently Progressive has done a much better job than Geico … both in terms of margins and in terms of growth," Jain said.

"There are a number of causes for that, but I think the biggest culprit is as far as Geico is concerned … is telematics," he added. Telematics refers to putting a device on a car that tracks driving patterns, in exchange for a lower insurance rate.

"Progressive has been on the telematics bandwagon for more than 10 years. Geico, until recently, wasn't involved in telematics," Jain said. "It's a long journey, but the journey has started, and the initial results are promising. It will take a while, but my hope is that in the next year or two, Geico will be positioned to catch up with Progressive."

Jain's comments came after Berkshire reported earlier in the day a massive earnings drop in its insurance underwriting business for the first quarter.

Fred Imbert

Munger blasts calls for separate Berkshire chairman and CEO

Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger had some stern words in response to a proposal to oust CEO Warren Buffett as chairman.

"It's the most ridiculous criticism I ever heard," Munger said.

"It's like Odysseus would come back from winning the battle of Troy and so forth and some guy would say, 'I don't like the way you were holding your spear when you won that battle,'" he added, referencing ancient Greek epic "The Odyssey."

The California Public Employees' Retirement System, or CalPERS, the biggest public pension fund in the U.S., earlier this month said it would vote in favor of a shareholder proposal to remove Buffett from his chairman role while remaining CEO. The proposal's aim stems from concerns about corporate governance with one person holding dual roles.

"Some guy that's never run any business, doesn't know anything — I don't think too much of this activity," Munger said.

—Hannah Miao

Munger says today's stock market 'almost a mania of speculation'

Charles Munger at the Berkshire Hathaway meeting, April 30, 2022.

CNBC

Munger said today's stock market has become "almost a mania of speculation."

His comment alluded to both high frequency algorithmic trading and access new investors have that intensified during the pandemic.

"We have computers with algorithms trading against other computers," Munger said. "We've got people who know nothing about stocks, being advised by stockbrokers who know even less.

"I understand the commission though," Buffett joked.

After Munger likened the activity to a casino, where people play craps and roulette, Buffett expanded on the comparison.  

"People and traders' poker chips are pulling the handle," he said. "They've got the system set up so that if you want to buy a three-day call on the stock you can do it and they make more money selling you calls than if you buy stock, so they teach you calls. Nobody's going around selling calls on farms. That's why markets do crazy things. Occasionally Berkshire gets a chance to do something. It's not because we're smarter. … we're sane, and that's the main requirement in this business."

— Tanaya Macheel

Buffett says he has 'so much trouble' finding businesses to invest in

Warren Buffett said Berkshire Hathaway is open to investing in businesses anywhere, not just in the U.S.

"We have so much trouble finding good ideas that we can't afford to ignore any," Buffett said. "But they do have to be sizable."

Buffett said while he does seek out new investments, he prefers to be approached proactively.

"We'll pay any price, climb any hills to find businesses, but we actually prefer when they fall into our lap," Buffett said.

Hannah Miao

Buffett wants Berkshire to be in a 'position to operate' should the economy stop

Buffett said he wants Berkshire Hathaway to be in a "position to operate" should the economy stop.

"We want Berkshire Hathaway to be there and in a position to operate if the economy stops," Buffett said. "And that can always happen, it can always happen."

Buffett played a significant role during the Great Recession, providing capital during a pivotal moment to companies such as Bank of America and Goldman Sachs. The move drew criticism from those who disapproved of the support of big banks.

The billionaire investor made those remarks while also praising the Federal Reserve's role during the 2008 financial crisis and the pandemic.

"The Federal Reserve has not gone," Buffett said. He added the Fed will "do whatever is necessary. ... That's what happened in 2008 and 2009, and that's what happened in 2020, and you'll hope it happens again next time."

— Sarah Min

Executives of Berkshire's portfolio companies discuss impact of inflation

Jim Weber, CEO of Brooks at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Meeting in Omaha Nebraska on April 29th, 2022.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

Ahead of the shareholder meeting, the executives of several Berkshire portfolio companies told CNBC how inflation was hitting their businesses.

One of those executives was Jim Weber, CEO of Brooks Running.

Weber said it was tough to raise prices for Brooks' products but that he thinks some of the cost pressures could cool soon.

"We don't have unlimited pricing power, but we have taken selective price increases where we think we can. But our whole industry is so competitive. It's a big market place. ... I do believe in the supply chain that costs are going to mediate a bit," Weber said.

Read more about the impact of inflation on companies such as Nebraska Furniture Mart and Dairy Queen.

— Jesse Pound

Buffett on his massive Occidental investment

Buffett scooped up 14% of oil giant Occidental Petroleum, worth more than $7 billion, in two weeks during March.

He pointed out that the stake was even larger when accounting for the index fund providers who own a huge chunk of the company.

"That's not investment. You're not buying from [investors]. I find it just incredible. You couldn't do that with Berkshire. ... Overwhelmingly, large companies in America, they became poker chips," Buffett said.

"That enabled us, in a two-week period, to buy 14% of a business that's been around for decades," Buffett said. "Imagine trying to [buy] 14% of the farms in this country. 14% of the apartment houses. 14% of the auto dealerships, or just anything, when already 40% were locked up some other place. It defies anything Charlie and I have seen, and we've seen a lot."

The legendary investor said that the short-term volatility earlier this year fueled by "gambling mentality" allowed him to find good long-term opportunities.

— Yun Li, Jesse Pound

Berkshire put money to work after finding 'little exciting' in the market

Buffett warns shareholders about 'new forms of money' and the importance of cash

An old 20 dollar bill shown during Berkshire Hathaway press conference

CNBC

Warren Buffett warned shareholders about "new forms of money" as he recalled the financial crisis of 2008 and said Berkshire Hathaway will "always have a lot of cash on hand."

Buffett did not explicitly identify bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, though he has made headlines for calling bitcoin "rat poison" in the past and has said it has no unique value. Charlie Munger has also spoken with hostility about it.

"The United States government affects that this became exchangeable for lawful money in the United States," Buffett said, displaying an image of an old $20 bill.

"That's what money is," he added. "It may turn out that it becomes worth dramatically less at purchasing power. It can become almost like paper money as it has in many countries. But that when people tell you that they're reaching [for] new forms of money, this is the only thing that will pay bills."

— Tanaya Macheel

Buffett says Berkshire is 'better than the banks'

Warren Buffett has a long history of teasing investment bankers and their institutions – saying that they encourage mergers and spinoffs to reap fees, rather than improve companies.

Today, he noted that Berkshire Hathaway would always be cash-rich, and in times of need, would be "better than the banks" at extending credit lines to companies in need. While Buffett was talking, someone was shouting from the crowd in the CHI Center. It was unclear what the audience member was said.

"Was that a banker screaming?" Buffett joked.

—Hugh Son

Berkshire bought more than $51 billion of stocks during Q1's market rout

Berkshire bought more than $51 billion worth of stocks during the first quarter's market turmoil, including sizable investments in Chevron, HP and Occidental. The buying at the start of the year marked a sharp reversal from 2021 that saw $7.4 billion of net sales in stocks.

The S&P 500 suffered a 5% sell-off in the first quarter, posting its worst quarter since the start of the pandemic. The rout continued in April with the equity benchmark down another 8.8% amid fears of surging inflation and rising rates.

— Yun Li

Buffett and Munger on stage with Berkshire vice chairmen

Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger at press conference during the Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, April 30, 2022.

CNBC

Warren Buffett appeared on stage at the CHI Health Center with his right hand man Charlie Munger by his side. They were welcomed by a round of applause from shareholders. Also on the stage were vice chairmen Greg Abel and Ajit Jain.

"It feels good to be back," the chairman and CEO said. "The two of us are 190 years old, and I really think you're entitled, if you're the owner of a company and got two guys — 98 and 91 — running the company, you're entitled to actually see them in person."

— Yun Li, Fred Imbert

Jimmy Buffett says he has never sold Berkshire shares after buying 25 years ago

Berkshire Hathaway counts musician and business mogul Jimmy Buffett among its long-term shareholders. The "Margaritaville" restaurant chain owner told CNBC he first bought shares of Berkshire Hathaway about 25 years ago.

"Have you held onto them this entire time?" Becky Quick asked.

"Never sold anything," Buffett said.

Warren Buffett and Jimmy Buffett attend Conservation International New York Dinner at Pierre Hotel on May 3, 2005 in New York City.

Patrick McMullan | Getty Images

The singer-songwriter said he first came to know Berkshire chairman and CEO Warren Buffett when tracing his family lineage. While the Buffetts have no relation, the two have remained friends.

Jimmy Buffett designed a pontoon boat manufactured by Berkshire subsidiary Forest River that debuted Friday at the "Berkshire Bazaar of Bargains."

A motor boat display at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder's Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska.

Yun Li | CNBC

Warren Buffett gave a sales pitch for the party boat in his annual shareholder letter in February, calling the musician "'Cousin' Jimmy Buffett."

"Your bargain-hunting chairman will be buying a boat for his family's use," the chairman said.

—Hannah Miao

Buffett's long-term track record keeps getting better

Warren Buffett's career has been a testament to that the fact that, over the long-term, value investing can produce major gains.

From the start of 1965 through the end of 2021, the per-share market value of Berkshire Hathaway had an average compound annual gain of 20.1%, according to the firm's annual letter. That is nearly double the S&P 500's 10.5%, including dividends.

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While Buffett has built a big lead over many decades, he has had continued success in recent years. Since 2010, Berkshire has outpaced the S&P 500 in eight calendar years. That is on track to happen again in 2022.

—Jesse Pound

Why do so few analysts recommend buying Berkshire's stock?

Many investors might be surprised to learn that there are only seven analysts covering Berkshire Hathaway at Wall Street's major equity research firms. Among these analysts, six of them have a hold-equivalent rating and only one has a buy rating, according to CNBC Research.

The primary reason for the lack of Berkshire bulls is the conglomerate's stellar performance this year, leading many to believe the good news has been priced in to the stock. Secondly, some analysts were expecting a slowdown in buybacks following a record year of share repurchases.

— Yun Li

How Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting became 'Woodstock for Capitalists'

Warren Buffett tours the shopping kiosks at the 2019 BHASM in Omaha, NE on May 3rd, 2019.

Gerard Miller | CNBC

Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting draws tens of thousands of attendees to Omaha, Nebraska, but the event has humble beginnings.

Warren Buffet took control of the company in 1965, and the shareholder meetings continued to be held in Massachusetts through 1972, according to the Omaha World-Herald. When Buffet moved the meetings to Omaha, just about a dozen people attended the first several years, according to The Wall Street Journal.

In 1985, the meeting drew 250 attendees. In 1989, a thousand people came. In 1996, the event had 5,000 attendees. By the 2000s, the meeting rose to the prominence of tens of thousands of participants.

The legendary event is often referred to as a pilgrimage for those in the world of business and finance. In fact, the meeting is most commonly dubbed "Woodstock for Capitalists."

It's unclear exactly when the name first came about, but the earliest reference to Woodstock in Berkshire's annual letters came in 1997, recapping the 1996 company's performance.

Buffet referred to the event as "our capitalist's version of Woodstock -the Berkshire Annual Meeting," he wrote to shareholders.

Berkshire Hathaway's CEO Warren Buffett (L) and his business partner Vice Chairman Charles Munger answer questions at a news conference May 4, 2003 in Omaha, Nebraska.

Eric Francis | Getty Images

— Hannah Miao

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon arrives at annual meeting

Saturday's "Woodstock for Capitalists" kicked off, with big shareholders, CEOs and other investors flooding the event center, including first-time attendee Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan.

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick was also in attendance, as well as Apple CEO Tim Cook.

— Tanaya Macheel

Berkshire has avoided new wagers on big U.S. banks after dumping shares in 2020

Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

Buffett has a long history of favoring banks. He helped rescue Salomon Brothers in the 1990s and swooped in again to help the industry by injecting $5 billion into Goldman Sachs in 2008 and another $5 billion into Bank of America in 2011.

So investors took note when he unloaded stakes in JPMorgan Chase, Goldman and Wells Fargo in 2020, trimming his portfolio to U.S.-centric retail lenders including Bank of America and U.S. Bancorp.

The fact that he has stayed away this year — despite loosening his purse strings for a string of recent deals and amid a pullback in bank stocks – could be a bad sign for the broader economy, some say.

"What this is telling you is, he thinks we need to batten down the hatches because we're looking at a long cycle of inflation and probably stagnation," said Phillip Phan, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.

—Hugh Son

How Berkshire's top stocks performed in April

Warren Buffett's long-term track record is hard to argue against, but his investments are not immune to short-term volatility in the markets.

Here's how Berkshire's top holdings performed in a rough April for the broader stock market.

— Jesse Pound

Scenes from the pregame extravaganza

Shareholders on Friday pregamed Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting with a shopping carnival featuring goods sold by the conglomerate's holdings.

The event is a tradition each year known as the "Berkshire Bazaar of Bargains." Only those with a shareholder credential can participate and shop at a discount in the CHI Health Center.

Exhibits included toy trains mimicking BNSF Railway rolling stock, Berkshire chocolate coins from See's Candies and Buffett-branded Brooks athleisure.

A woman takes a selfie in front of Berkshire Hathaway signage at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

The NetJets display at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. 

David A. Grogan | CNBC

The counter at See's Candies, at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

Sign advertising Capitalist card at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

Warren Buffett rides in a cart at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, April 29, 2022.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

Charles Munger at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, April 29, 2022.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

Warren Buffett and Becky Quick at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, April 29, 2022.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

Charles Munger and Warren Buffet faces in Berkshire Hathaway T-Shirts at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

People shopping for See's Candies at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

—Yun Li and Hannah Miao

Buffett is back in the stock-picking game after a selling streak

Before Berkshire's recent buying spree, the Omaha-based conglomerate had been a net seller of stocks for the past five quarters as Buffett saw few bargains among surging equities.

In the second quarter of 2020, Buffett dumped his entirety of airline stakes, north of $4 billion then, as he believed the pandemic changed the industry fundamentally.

— Yun Li

Berkshire has been a big winner in 2022

Berkshire Hathaway's CEO Warren Buffett (L) and his business partner Vice Chairman Charles Munger answer questions at a news conference May 4, 2003 in Omaha, Nebraska.

Eric Francis | Getty Images

Shares of Berkshire Hathaway have been one of the stock market's best bets in 2022.

The B-class shares of Warren Buffett's conglomerate ended April up nearly 8% for the year. The S&P 500, meanwhile, has shed more than 13%.

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The gain for Buffett has come despite a decline of roughly 11% for Apple, Berkshire's top holding. The firm has benefited from big gains in energy stocks such Chevron and Occidental Petroleum. Berkshire also has large position in Coca-Cola, which has gained 9% in 2022 despite increasing concerns about a potential recession.

Despite the overall gains, Berkshire was not immune to the market downturn in April. The B-class shares dropped 8.5% over the past month.

—Jesse Pound

Berkshire earnings decline in the first quarter

Berkshire Hathaway's first-quarter earnings declined year over year, with the stock market turmoil and weaker insurance results hurting results.

The company reported $5.46 billion in earnings, down from $11.71 billion in the year-earlier period for a decline of about 53%.

Because of Berkshire's large investment holdings, earnings can be volatile quarter to quarter. Buffett has long said investors should focus on Berkshire's operating earnings, which were mostly flat year over year at $7.04 billion, as a better indicator of the firm's performance.

The pace of stock buybacks also slowed, with Berkshire spending $3.2 billion on repurchases compared with $6.9 billion in the prior quarter. The company ended March with  $106.3 billion in cash.

—Jesse Pound

Long lines at CHI Health Center

Shareholders lined up Saturday morning to enter CHI Health Center for Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting.

Shareholders lining up to get into CHI Health Center for Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting. April 30, 2022.

CNBC | Yun Li

Shareholders lining up to get into CHI Health Center for Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting. April 30, 2022.

CNBC | Yun Li

People enter the Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, April 30, 2022.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

—Yun Li and Hannah Miao

Shareholders look for Buffett's guidance during market turmoil

Berkshire's annual shareholder arrives at a time of heightened worry in the stock market.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite finished a rough April at their lows for the year. The broad S&P 500 suffered its worst month since March 2020, while the the tech-heavy Nasdaq had its worst month since 2008.

Berkshire also struggled in April, but its stock has been a relative safe-haven and is up nearly 8% for the year.

Buffett's decades of experiences spans many recessions, bear markets and periods of high volatility, so his acolytes will likely be looking for his guidance on how to approach investing at this current moment.

—Jesse Pound

Buffett is putting cash to work

Berkshire Hathaway's massive cash pile dipped to $106.3 billion at the end of the first quarter, the lowest level since the third quarter of 2018, as Warren Buffet ramped up his investment activity.

The "Oracle of Omaha" recently used $23 billion in different investments — $11.6 billion to acquire insurer Alleghany, more than $7 billion in additional investments in oil giant Occidental Petroleum and $4.2 billion for a stake in PC maker Hewlett-Packard.

— Yun Li

What to expect from Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger

Buffett is expected to kick off Berkshire's annual shareholder meeting on a high note, with the "Oracle of Omaha" finally back in the deal-making game and the conglomerate's outperforming stock crossing a key milestone.

The 91-year-old chairman and CEO will be on stage with his right-hand man Charlie Munger at 98 to answer shareholder questions, following a flurry of investment activities — stakes in Occidental Petroleum and HP as well as an acquisition of Alleghany.

Here are some of the big topics shareholders will want to hear from Buffett:

  • Market outlook: The stock market has suffered a correction on fears of inflation and rising rates. How should investors navigate the volatility and a tricky economic landscape?
  • Deploying more cash: Buffett has been putting capital to work as of late. Will his buying spree continue? Is he going to pull off an "elephant-sized" deal?
  • A slowdown in buybacks: With Berkshire shares significantly outperforming, will Buffett cease or continue to slow down his aggressive buyback program?
  • Life after Buffett and Munger: Berkshire's succession plan
  • China, crypto, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and more

— Yun Li

Here's the schedule for CNBC's coverage of the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting

CNBC: 2022 BHASM: Becky Quick at the Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, April 29, 2022.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

CNBC will be livestreaming Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting on Saturday, beginning at 9:45 a.m. ET. Viewers can expect a lively discussion regarding Warren Buffett's view of the market, Berkshire's plans to spend its cash and other key topics.

Here is a rundown of the day's events:

9:45 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.: Pre-show anchored by Becky Quick and Mike Santoli

10:15 a.m. - 1 p.m.: Morning session of annual meeting

1 p.m. - 2 p.m.: Halftime show anchored by Becky Quick and Mike Santoli

2 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.: Afternoon session of annual meeting

4:30 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.: Post-show anchored by Becky Quick and Mike Santoli

4:45 p.m.: Formal Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting

Post-meeting coverage: Final thoughts live from Omaha, Nebraska, with Becky Quick and Mike Santoli

Note: Schedule reflects Eastern Time

—Christina Cheddar Berk

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Warren Buffett is back on stage for the second half of the Berkshire annual meeting - CNBC
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Charlie Munger says people shouldn't put their retirement savings into bitcoin - CNBC Television

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Charlie Munger says people shouldn't put their retirement savings into bitcoin - CNBC Television
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A key inflation gauge jumped 6.6% in March, most since 1982 - The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — An inflation gauge closely tracked by the Federal Reserve surged 6.6% in March compared with a year ago, the highest 12-month jump in four decades and further evidence that spiking prices are pressuring household budgets and the health of the economy.

Yet there were signs in Friday’s report from the Commerce Department that inflation might be slowing from its galloping pace and perhaps nearing a peak, at least for now.

And despite soaring prices, consumer spending rose faster than inflation for a third consecutive month, suggesting that rising prices haven’t cooled the desire of Americans to shop. The pandemic’s distortions to the economy are also fading as consumers shift their spending back to experiences like travel, concerts and dining out. That follows a two-year surge of pandemic spending on goods, things like exercise bikes, patio furniture and standing desks.

The switch to services helps restrain inflation because prices are rising more slowly for services than for goods.

Excluding the especially volatile food and energy categories, so-called core prices rose 5.2% in March from a year earlier. That was slightly below the 5.3% year-over-year increase in February, and it was the first time that 12-month figure has declined since February 2021, before the inflation spike began. And on a month-to-month basis, core prices rose 0.3% from February to March, the same as from January to February. Previously, it had risen by a half-point for four straight months.

“The slowdown in (core inflation) is really nice to see,” said Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank, in an email to clients. “Inflation may have peaked in March, although the evidence is still a little ambiguous. But inflation’s momentum is still very strong.”

Overall inflation jumped 0.9% in March from February, the biggest one month gain since 2005. Gas prices soared 18% just in March. But they have since fallen a bit this month, another sign inflation may start to slowly decline.

Consumers increased their spending by 1.1% last month, more than many economists had expected. The gain largely reflected higher prices at the gas pump, grocery store and other places where Americans shop for necessities. But even adjusted for inflation, spending rose 0.2%.

Sharp gains in wages and salaries are helping many consumers handle higher costs. A separate report Friday from the Labor Department showed that employees’ pay and benefits jumped 1.4% in the first three months of the year, before adjusting for inflation. That was the highest such increase on records dating back two decades.

Yet the gain isn’t big enough to completely offset higher prices. In the past year, wages and benefits have jumped 4.7%. But after adjusting for inflation, they are down 3.7%.

That decline helps explain why Americans are taking an increasingly negative view of the economy. About one-third of respondents to a Gallup poll, released Thursday, cited inflation as the most important financial problem their family faces today, up from fewer than one in 10 who said so a year ago.

Consumers are maintaining their spending by digging into the extra savings they built up during the pandemic. The saving rate fell to 6.2% in March, the lowest level since 2013.

A smaller savings pool may eventually restrain consumers, but that’s unlikely anytime soon.

Americans have about $2.1 trillion more in savings than they did before COVID, with some of that cash in lower-income Americans’ bank accounts. Economists at Bank of America note that, according to the bank’s data on checking and savings accounts, households that earn under $50,000 a year had an average of about $3,000 in their accounts in February — roughly double the pre-pandemic level.

High inflation and strong wage increases are leading the Federal Reserve to plan a series of sharp interest rates hikes in the coming months. The Fed is set to raise its benchmark short-term rate by a half-point next week, a faster move than its typical quarter-point hike and the first increase that large since 2000.

Outside the United States, too, inflation is surging, forcing other central banks to either raise interest rates or move closer to doing so. In the 19 countries that use the euro, inflation reached a record high of 7.5% in April from a year ago.

In Europe, spiking energy prices stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are playing a bigger role in driving inflation. The European Central Bank could raise rates for the first time since the pandemic in July, even as growth in the region has slowed because of the war.

The gloom that has gripped public opinion as inflation has accelerated is posing a growing political threat to President Joe Biden and Democrats running for Congress. Biden has pointed to a strong job market and solid consumer spending as evidence that his policies have helped Americans. But that view absorbed a setback Thursday, when the government reported that the economy actually contracted in the first three months of this year at a 1.4% annual rate.

How consumers respond to inflated prices — and much higher interest rates from the Federal Reserve — is one of the unknowns facing the economy this year. Moody’s Analytics estimates that the average household is spending $327 more each month to buy the same things they bought a year ago.

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A key inflation gauge jumped 6.6% in March, most since 1982 - The Associated Press
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Friday, April 29, 2022

$473 million Powerball ticket yet to be claimed - ABC15 Arizona

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Dow tanks 900 points, as S&P 500, Nasdaq post worst month since March 2020 - The Washington Post

correction

In April, the Dow declined 4.9 percent, the S&P 500 dropped 8.8 percent and Nasdaq fell 13.3 percent. An earlier version of this story listed inaccurate numbers.

Stocks nosedived Friday, with the three major U.S. indexes incurring heavy losses as Wall Street wrapped up a dismal April marked by investor hand-wringing over rising interest rates, relentless inflation, corporate earnings and global unrest.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 939.18 points, or 2.8 percent, to close at 32,977.21. The S&P 500 index tumbled 155.57 points, or 3.6 percent, to land at 4,131.93. And the Nasdaq, home to tech stocks that bore heavy losses, plummeted 536.89 points, or 4.2 percent, to settle at 12,334.64.

The S&P 500 erased 8.8 percent in April, its worst month since March 2020, according to MarketWatch. It’s also down 13.8 percent in 2022, its worst start to the year since World War II, according to an analysis by CFRA Research chief investment strategist Sam Stovall. The Nasdaq slumped 13.3 percent during the month, its worst since the onset of the pandemic, while the Dow tumbled 4.9 percent.

Amazon got swept into the tech sell-off, tumbling more than 14 percent Friday after it reported its first quarterly loss in years and a weakened outlook. Apple dropped nearly 3.7 percent, Intel shed 6.9 percent and Google parent Alphabet lost 3.7 percent. Meanwhile, Netflix continued to nosedive after disclosing subscriber numbers fell in the first quarter; shares fell 4.6 percent Friday and have declined 49.2 percent since the start of the month. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

Investors are generally giddy when the calendar flips to April, analysts say, given the typical seasonal surges in consumer spending. And a bad April has the potential to spook economists and traders alike on the outlook for the rest of the year.

And more head winds are forming: the U.S. economy unexpectedly contracted 1.4 percent in the first quarter, according to federal data released Thursday. Inflation in March jumped to 8.5 percent, but the narrower core personal consumption expenditures price index, which excludes more volatile food and energy costs, showed signs of slowing.

Markets also have been volatile amid signs the Federal Reserve intends to fast track rate hikes to subdue inflation. The central bank is expected to announce its second increase of the year at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday.

Internationally, Russia on Thursday cut off fossil fuel exports to Poland and Bulgaria, scrambling energy prices. Brent crude oil traded Friday at $109 a barrel, and RBOB gas, the benchmark for American gasoline, sold for $3.46 per gallon. Chinese health authorities have also instituted near total lockdowns in Beijing and Shanghai, the country’s two largest cities, to combat rising covid-19 case rates, throwing already stressed supply chains into disarray.

“The markets finally faced up to economic and geopolitical reality: all is not well,” George Ball, chairman of Houston-based financial services firm Sanders Morris Harris, said.

“Markets are worried that the Federal Reserve is hiking interest rates into a slowdown, thus making a major, unforced policy error,” Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group, said. “In other words, events around the world are slowing economic growth, especially in Europe and Asia, with no clear signs of letting up. As the negative GDP print yesterday suggests, the fallout is here at home as well. So, instead of simply re-pricing the value of cash flows with the expected path of rates, markets are factoring in recession.”

Service and natural resources firms excelled during April. Procter & Gamble gained nearly 5.2 percent over the month. Health insurance giant Humana grabbed better than 2 percent. Tyson Foods, the Arkansas-based poultry producer, and Marathon Petroleum each added 4 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively.

The Fed’s coming rate hikes, though worrisome for larger investors, has economists optimistic that workforce costs and inflation may soon level off.

“Consumers are the backbone of the economy and their spending continues at a normal rate despite everything the world has thrown at them in the first quarter this year from war in Europe to a stock market rout,” Chris Rupkey, chief economist at market research firm FWD Bonds, said in a Friday note. “There’s nothing about to go wrong with the economy with the consumer still cheerleading the way forward to prosperity. No recession on the horizon yet.”

Then Friday’s sell-off happened. Rupkey revised his assessment in an after-close note.

“The stock market has collapsed, the most leading of leading indicators shows the economy is going to crash,” he said. “Look out below.”

Kate Rabinowitz and Doug MacMillan contributed to this report.

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Dow tanks 900 points, as S&P 500, Nasdaq post worst month since March 2020 - The Washington Post
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Euro zone inflation hits record high for the sixth month in a row - CNBC

Inflation in the euro zone remains well-above the ECB's target, as energy and food prices soar.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Inflation in the euro zone has hit a record high for the sixth consecutive month, sparking further questions over how the European Central Bank will react.

Headline inflation in the 19-member region reached 7.5% in April, according to preliminary estimates by Europe's statistics office released Friday. In March, the figure came in at 7.4%.

European Central Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos tried to reassure lawmakers over rising prices on Thursday, saying the euro zone is close to reaching peak inflation. The central bank sees price pressures diminishing in the second half of this year, although energy costs are expected to keep inflation relatively high.

The latest inflation reading comes amid concerns over the ongoing war in Ukraine war and subsequent impact on Europe's energy supply — and how this could affect the region's economy.

Rising energy prices contributed the most to April's inflation rate, though they were slightly lower than the previous month. Energy prices were up 38% in April on an annual basis, compared to a 44.4% rise in March.

Earlier this week, Russia's energy firm Gazprom halted gas flows to two EU nations for not paying for the commodity in rubles. The move sparked fears that other countries may also be cut off.

Analysts at Gavekal, a financial research firm, said that if Gazprom were to also cut supplies to Germany, "the economic effects would be catastrophic."

Meanwhile in Italy, central bank estimates are pointing to a recession this year if Russia cuts all its energy supplies to the southern nation.

As a whole, the EU receives about 40% of its gas imports from Russia. Reduced flows could hit households hard, as well as companies that depend on the commodity to produce their goods.

Speaking to CNBC Friday, Alfred Stern, CEO of one of Europe's largest energy firms, OMV, said it would be almost impossible for the EU to find alternatives to Russian gas in the short-term.

"We should be rather clear: in the short run, it will be very difficult for Europe, if not impossible, to substitute the Russian gas flows. So, this can be a medium-to-long term debate … but in the short run, I think we need to stay focused and make sure that we keep also European industry, European households supplied with gas," Stern said.

ECB hikes

Separate data also released Friday pointed to a GDP (gross domestic product) rate of 0.2% for the euro area in the first quarter.

"Among the Member States for which data are available for the first quarter 2022, Portugal (+2.6%) recorded the highest increase compared to the previous quarter, followed by Austria (+2.5%) and Latvia (+2.1%). Declines were recorded in Sweden (-0.4%) and in Italy (-0.2%)," the release said.

Analysts at Capital Economics said that despite the positive figure for the first quarter, "we think euro zone GDP is likely to contract in Q2 as fallout from the Ukraine war and surging energy prices take an increasing toll on households real incomes and consumer confidence as well as exacerbating supply-side problems."

Market players are carefully watching out for how the ECB might react, with some projecting its first rate hike as early as this summer. In a note Friday, Bank of America said the ECB will hike rates four times this year and another two times in 2023.

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Euro zone inflation hits record high for the sixth month in a row - CNBC
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Google will now remove your phone number and other info from search results. Here's how to do it. - CBS News

Google is now allowing people to remove their personal contact information — phone numbers, physical addresses and email addresses — from its search results. The Alphabet-owned search giant said on Wednesday that it is making the change to protect users from "unwanted direct contact or even physical harm."

Google said it had previously allowed people to request the removal of some specific types of info, but that the new policy represents a broader attempt to help protect personal data for users. Prior to the new policy, people could ask for more specific information to be removed, such as bank account or credit card numbers. 

The change comes amid a surge in online fraud. The Federal Trade Commission reporting that consumers lost $5.8 billion to scammers last year, a jump of 70% from the previous year. Much of that fraud is perpetrated through online scams, such as romance swindles, as well as though telephone solicitations and identity theft. 

"[T]he internet is always evolving – with information popping up in unexpected places and being used in new ways — so our policies and protections need to evolve, too," Michelle Chang, global policy lead for search at Google, said in a blog post about the new policy. 

Google noted that removing the information can also protect people from doxxing, which is when personal info like emails or addresses are shared publicly with malicious intent, such as to encourage online harassment. 

Here's how to get your personal information removed from Google searches. 

What will Google remove from its search results?

Google said it will now remove personal contact information from its search results, including your phone number, email address or physical address. 

Previously, the company only allowed people to ask for more confidential personal data to be removed, such as Social Security numbers, bank account and credit card numbers, images of personal signatures, and medical records. 

How do I ask Google to remove my phone number and other personal information?

Visit this Google site to start the process. The page will ask you to provide the website addresses that include the information that you want removed from Google's search results. 

What happens after I ask Google to remove my info?

Google says that you will get an automated response confirming that it received your request. Next, the search platform will review the request and may ask for more information. For instance, if the request is missing a web address, it will ask you to fix that and resubmit the application. 

Next, Google will let you know if it takes action. For instance, it could remove site addresses from all search queries, or it could remove them from specific queries that include your name or other personal data. 

Will Google give the go-ahead to all requests?

No. Google said it will evaluate all requests to make sure that it's not limiting broadly useful content, such as news articles. It will also examine if the content is part of the public record, such as government files. In that case, Google says it also won't remove the data from search results. 

If Google removes my personal data, will it vanish from the internet?

No. Google cautions that removing content from its search result does not mean that it is off the wider internet. To ensure all information is scrubbed, you'll also want to contact any hosting site where your info appears and ask that company to remove it. 

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Thursday, April 28, 2022

Cramer's lightning round: Don't sell Weber here - CNBC

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Weber Inc: "I would not sell this thing ... because it makes money."

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Magnolia Oil & Gas Corp: "I think it's a good company. ... I like it."

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Affirm Holdings Inc: "It doesn't make money, I know, but it's [chief executive] Max Levchin. Max Levchin will figure something out."

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Apple shares dip after company warns of a possible $8 billion hit from supply constraints - CNBC

In this article

Apple's revenue grew nearly 9% year over year in the quarter ended in March, the company said on Thursday, showing strong growth and bucking investor worries about a deteriorating macroeconomic environment affecting demand for high-end smartphones and computers. 

But Apple shares fell nearly 4% in extended trading after Apple CFO Luca Maestri warned of several challenges in the current quarter, including supply constraints related to Covid-19 that could hurt sales by between $4 billion and $8 billion. The tech giant also warned that demand in China was being sapped by Covid-related lockdowns.

Apple CEO Tim Cook added the company was "not immune" to supply chain challenges.

Here's how Apple did versus Refinitiv consensus estimates:  

  • EPS: $1.52 vs. $1.43 estimated 
  • Revenue: $97.28 billion vs. $93.89 billion estimated, up 8.59% year over year 
  • iPhone revenue: $50.57 billion vs. $47.88 billion estimated, up 5.5% year over year 
  • Services revenue: $19.82 billion vs. $19.72 billion estimated, up 17.28% year over year 
  • Other Products revenue: $8.81 billion vs. $9.05 billion estimated, up 12.37% year over year 
  • Mac revenue: $10.44 billion vs. $9.25 billion estimated, up 14.73% year over year 
  • iPad revenue: $7.65 billion vs. $7.14 billion estimated, down 1.92% year over year 
  • Gross margin: 43.7% vs. 43.1% estimated 

Apple did not provide a forecast for the current quarter — the company hasn't provided official revenue guidance since February 2020, citing uncertainty tied to the pandemic.  

In addition, Apple said that its board of directors authorized $90 billion in share buybacks, maintaining its pace as the public company that spends the most buying its own shares. It spent $88.3 billion on buybacks in 2021, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.  

Apple increased its dividend by 5% to 23 cents per share. 

The smartphone business grew over 5% during the quarter, yielding more evidence that the current iPhone 13 model is selling well.  

Cook said that the iPhone business had a successful quarter with sales to so-called switchers, or people who previously had an Android phone but decided to buy an iPhone.  

"We had a record level of upgraders during the quarter and we grew switchers, strong double digits," Cook told CNBC's Steve Kovach. 

The earnings beat also suggests that Apple's premium smartphone business may be insulated from concerns about deteriorating consumer confidence. The increase in sales also came despite a difficult year-over-year iPhone comparison, since the new iPhones were launched earlier in 2021.  

"It's clearly a strong cycle," Cook said. 

Elsewhere, Mac computers continued to grow strongly after Apple transitioned its lineup to use its own M1 chips instead of Intel processors. Sales were up nearly 15% year over year to $10.44 billion.  

However, Apple's iPad business continues to go sideways, with sales down 2.1% from a year ago, despite updated models with Apple's M1 chip. Cook said the iPad business had "very significant supply constraints" during the quarter. 

Apple's profitable services business, which includes subscriptions, licensing fees, and extended warranties, continues to grow strongly with over 17% growth. However, over the past two years the business had made a habit of beating Wall Street expectations by between 3% and over 8%, and this quarter, it only exceeded Refinitiv estimates by 0.51%. 

"The [services] comps are a bit strange during Covid, because we've had lockdowns and then reopenings and so on," Maestri said in an interview with CNBC, adding that during some periods in the last two years that "digital content went through the roof."

Cook said that Apple's financial performance was "better than we anticipated." The fastest-growing region was the Americas, which saw sales rise 20% during the quarter to $50.57 billion. Greater China, which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan, grew at a slower 3.47% rate to $18.34 billion. Cook said Covid-related China lockdowns didn't affect Apple during the quarter, however.  

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Apple shares dip after company warns of a possible $8 billion hit from supply constraints - CNBC
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Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Elon Musk wins trial over Tesla acquisition of SolarCity - The Washington Post

SAN FRANCISCO — Elon Musk did not breach his fiduciary duty to Tesla when the company acquired solar power firm SolarCity, a Delaware Chancery Court judge ruled on Wednesday.

The decision, delivered in a 132-page opinion, absolved Musk of legal liability in a battle that had loomed over Tesla for years since shareholders filed suit.

“[My] verdict is for the defense on all claims,” the judge, Joseph R. Slights III, wrote in his opinion.

Tesla acquired SolarCity for $2.6 billion in 2016. Musk at the time owned a large portion of SolarCity, which was run by two of his cousins. Tesla shareholders alleged Musk was acting in his own interest with the purchase, rather than that of the electric vehicle company, now the world’s most valuable carmaker. Shareholders had argued that the acquisition of SolarCity amounted to a bailout of a struggling company in which family members were involved.

Elon Musk defends Tesla solar deal in court, calls opposing lawyer ‘a bad human being’

In his opinion, Slights summarized the plaintiffs’ view: that Musk made Tesla’s “servile” board greenlight the acquisition of an “insolvent” SolarCity to bail out an investment by him and family members that was not panning out.

“This, say the plaintiffs, was a clear breach of Elon’s fiduciary duty of loyalty,” Slights wrote.

Musk himself had taken the stand in the SolarCity suit last summer, defending Tesla’s decision to buy the solar firm when he put the deal in terms of the planet’s future. He also attacked a plaintiffs’ attorney as a “bad human being.”

The suit also concerned Musk’s alleged control of the board. Musk, the plaintiffs argued, exerted dominance over the board as he sought to see the deal through.

Slights disagreed, however, pointing to instances where he found the board rebuffed Musk.

“Elon was undoubtedly involved in the deal process in ways he should not have been, but fortunately, the Tesla Board ensured nevertheless that the process led to a fair price,” the judge wrote.

Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Randall Baron, attorney for the plaintiffs, said, “The court recognized important conflicts and flaws in the deal approval process. We are carefully reviewing the court’s decision and are considering appropriate next steps in consultation with our clients.”

The decision adds to a string of legal victories for Musk in high-profile litigation that posed risks to both him and Tesla. Musk was not held liable, for example, in the 2018 defamation suit involving a Thai cave rescue diver he had called a “pedo guy.” And though he gave up his Tesla chairmanship after a 2018 tweet that he had “Funding secured” to take Tesla private at $420 a share, Musk retained his control of the company and later emerged the world’s richest person.

The latest threat to Tesla is Musk’s $44 billion deal this week to take over social media firm Twitter. He is using billions of dollars worth of his Tesla stake as collateral to pay for Twitter, a move that sent Tesla’s stock tumbling by more than $100 billion on Tuesday.

Tesla’s value dropped Tuesday by more than double the cost of Twitter

In the SolarCity trial, Musk could have had to pay back as much as $2 billion to Tesla.

Beyond that potential penalty, the suit was also a referendum on Musk’s brash leadership style — where he aggressively pursued his interests sometimes independent of established processes.

“If he was found liable for the monetary damages, that would be a harm to Tesla,” said Alexander Manglinong, an associate attorney focused on business litigation at the firm Stubbs Alderton & Markiles. “In turn, him causing that would just be another reason to add to that list of why the Board of Directors might want to reconsider who would be CEO.”

Slights nodded to Musk’s unusual level of involvement in the deal in his opinion Wednesday.

“The process employed by the Tesla Board to negotiate and ultimately recommend the Acquisition was far from perfect. Elon was more involved in the process than a conflicted fiduciary should be,” he wrote. “With that said, the Tesla Board meaningfully vetted the Acquisition, and Elon did not stand in its way.”

How Elon Musk went from sleeping in the factory to being on the cusp of launching a crew into space

Slights also said Tesla paid a fair price for SolarCity in the deal.

“SolarCity was, at a minimum, worth what Tesla paid for it,” he wrote, “and the Acquisition otherwise was highly beneficial to Tesla.”

In recent years, the SolarCity investment has been dismissed a blunder by Tesla; some have heaped blame on Musk over the litigation Tesla has faced due to the subsidiary’s shortcomings in ushering in Tesla’s clean energy goals. Walmart in 2019 filed suit against Tesla over a string of seven solar panel fires at stores around the country, an example of the type of litigation Tesla faced in the aftermath of the purchase. Tesla and Walmart settled in the matter, CNBC reported.

In his opinion, Slights addressed the plaintiffs’ arguments that Tesla and SolarCity had not integrated. Examples included Tesla’s termination of thousands of solar-focused workers, and the decrease in deployments of solar components after Musk “repurposed” SolarCity employees to work on the rollout of the Model 3, Tesla’s mass market-aimed sedan.

Those examples were true, he said, but “the fact that SolarCity has yet to be fully integrated into Tesla does not diminish the substantial synergies already achieved, to say nothing of the massive potential for synergies yet to be achieved.”

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Elon Musk wins trial over Tesla acquisition of SolarCity - The Washington Post
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Regional Bank Stocks Fall After New York Community Bancorp Cuts Dividend, Posts Loss - The Wall Street Journal

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Regional Bank Stocks Fall After New York Community Bancorp Cuts Dividend, Posts Loss    The Wall St...