Facebook logo Facebook Sign up for Facebook to connect with Mike Segar Reuters A trip to the New York Stock Exchange when he was 9 years old was encouraging 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 felt awe,” Buffett said. “I was very interested in technical analysis and mapping stocks and doing all sorts of crazy things, doing hours and hours and saving money to buy other stocks and trying to shorten. 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 changed completely later when he was 19 or 20 after reading a specific passage in a book that he said must have been “The Intelligent Investor” by Benjamin Graham. “I looked at this book and I saw a paragraph and it told me I was doing everything wrong. I was just wrong about the whole approach,” Buffett said. – Sarah Min

Munger says Robinhood “unfolds”

Charlie Munger cited the commissionless Robinhood as an example of a good idea that was “blatantly exaggerated.” The stock fell below $ 10 a share last week after the company announced redundancies and reduced active users. It debuted at $ 38 per share in July 2021. “Look at what happened to Robinhood, from its peak to its threshold,” Munger said. “Wasn’t it obvious that something like this would happen?” Munger said the “hidden starters” of this business model were “disgusting”. Robinhood makes money from a practice known as payment for order flow. Takes part of the spread in the transactions that the company promotes in bigger trading houses. “It’s unfolding. God is doing justice,” Munger said. – Jesse Pound

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

Charlie Manger is still in bitcoin. He answered a question from a member of the public who asked which individual stock they would invest in given how high inflation has risen. Berkshire executives did not say where they would put their money, but Munger was clear about where he would not invest: bitcoin. “When you have your own retirement account and your friendly advisor suggests you put all your money into bitcoin, just say no,” he said. Munger’s response was a covert reference to big news from Fidelity this week, which will now allow employees to place bitcoin in their employee-funded retirement accounts. Munger and Buffett are both critics of bitcoin, which is becoming increasingly attractive to some investors because of its potential as a hedge fund. – Tanaya Macheel

Buffett says he was never “good at timing”

Warren Buffett said he never understood how to time markets. “We have no idea what the stock market would do when it opened on Monday,” Buffett said in response to a question from an audience. “I do not think we have ever made a decision where one of us either said or thought we should buy or sell based on what the market will do or, in this case, what the economy will do. we do not know “, he continued. The Oracle of Omaha said it often receives bad credit for the stock winners it has selected over the years, noting that it has also missed some great opportunities. Buffett said he failed to make any major purchases in the early days of the pandemic. In one day in March 2020, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 12.9%, its worst day since 1987. Instead, Buffett pursues a value investing strategy or chooses stocks with attractive valuations, instead of focusing on the whims of the stock market. “We were not good at timing,” Buffett said. “We were pretty good at figuring out when our money was coming in. And we had no idea when we were buying something, but we always hoped it would fall for a while so we could buy more. That is, these things, you could find out fourth grade. “ – Sarah Min

Berkshire chief insurance chief explains how Geico has lagged behind rival Competitive

Appearance showing Gecko character for GEICO Insurance during the Berkshire Hathaway Annual General Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. Yun Li | CNBC Berkshire Hathaway Vice President Ajit Jain, who heads all the insurance companies in the heterogeneous group, lamented how Geico fell behind competitive Progressive in the auto insurance industry. “Each has its pros and cons, but having said that, there is no doubt that Progressive has recently done a much better job than Geico … both in terms of margins and in terms of growth,” Jain said. “There are many reasons for this, but I think the biggest culprit for Geico… is telematics,” he added. Telematics refers to the installation of a device in a car that follows the driving standards, in exchange for a lower insurance rate. “Progressive has been active in the field of telematics for more than 10 years. Until recently, Geico was not involved in telematics,” said Jain. “It’s a long journey, but the journey has begun and the initial results are promising. It will take some time, but I hope that in the next two years, Geico will be able to catch up with Progressive.” Jain’s comments came after Berkshire reported earlier in the day a huge drop in earnings in its first-quarter insurance business. – Fred Ebert

Munger blasts require a separate Berkshire president and CEO

Berkshire Hathaway Vice President Charlie Munger had some harsh words in response to the proposal to remove CEO Warren Buffett from the presidency. “It’s the most ridiculous criticism I’ve ever heard,” Munger said. It is as if Odysseus was returning from the victory of Troy and so on and some guy would say: “I do not like the way you held your spear when you won that battle”, he added, referring to the ancient Greek epic. “The Odyssey.” The California Civil Servants Retirement System, or CalPERS, the largest public pension fund in the United States, announced earlier this month that it would vote in favor of a shareholder proposal to remove Buffett from the presidency, remaining CEO. The aim of the proposal stems from concerns about corporate governance with one person having dual roles. “Some guy who has never had a business knows nothing – I do not think too much about this activity,” Munger said. – Hannah Miao

Munger says today’s stock market is “almost a speculation frenzy”

Charles Munger at the Berkshire Hathaway meeting, April 30, 2022. CNBC Munger said the stock market today has become “almost a speculation frenzy”. His comment, referring to both high-frequency algorithmic transactions and access to new investors, intensified during the pandemic. “We have computers with algorithms that trade with other computers,” Munger said. “We have people who know nothing about stocks, who are advised by stockbrokers who know even less. “But I understand the supply,” Buffett joked. After Munger likened the activity to a casino where people play dice and roulette, Buffett expanded the comparison.
“People and dealer poker chips are pulling the trigger,” he said. “They have set up the system so that if you want to buy a three-day call for a share, you can do it and make more money selling your calls than if you buy shares, so they teach you calls. No one goes around selling farm calls. “That’s why markets do crazy things. Occasionally Berkshire has a chance to do something. It’s not because we’re smarter. Or we’re sensible, 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 says Berkshire Hathaway is open to investing in businesses anywhere, not just in the US “We find it so difficult to find good ideas that we can not afford to ignore any,” Buffett said. “But they must be big enough.” Buffett said that while looking for new investments, he prefers to be approached cautiously. “We will pay any price, we will climb any hills to find businesses, but in reality we prefer when they fall into our arms,” ​​Buffett said. – Hannah Miao

Buffett wants Berkshire to be in “operation” if the economy stops

Buffett said he wanted Berkshire Hathaway to be “in operation” if the economy stopped. “We want the Berkshire Hathaway to be there and able to operate if the economy stops,” Buffett said. “And that can always happen, it can always happen.” Buffett played a key role during the Great Depression, providing capital at a pivotal time to companies such as Bank of America and Goldman Sachs. The move drew criticism from those who disapproved of the support of the big banks. The billionaire investor made the remarks while also praising the role of the Federal Reserve during the 2008 financial crisis and the pandemic. “The Federal Reserve is not gone,” Buffett said. He added that the Fed will “do what is necessary … This happened in 2008 and 2009, and this happened in 2020, and you will hope that it will happen again next time.” – Sarah Min

Berkshire portfolio executives discuss the effects of inflation

Jim Weber, CEO of Brooks at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual General Meeting in Omaha Nebraska on April 29, 2022. David A. Grogan | CNBC Ahead of the shareholders’ meeting, executives at several Berkshire portfolio companies told CNBC how inflation hit their businesses. One of these executives was Jim Weber, CEO of Brooks Running. Weber said it was difficult to raise prices for Brooks products, but he believes some of the cost pressures will ease soon. “We do not have unlimited pricing power, but we have made selective price increases where we think we can. But our whole industry is so competitive. It’s a big market. … I think …