Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Has Further Expansion Throughout Georgia

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices has announced its further expansion in the state of Georgia with the addition of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices First Magnolia Realty. This addition marks the brand’s continued growth in the South region and its 33rd franchise company.

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices First Magnolia Realty is Co-Founded by industry trailblazers, Cal Knecht and Crystal Rush. Known as the top two agents in Georgia, Phenix City and the Alabama area, the duo will serve the luxury, residential and commercial real estate markets.

“The luxury residential real estate market in Columbus, Georgia continues to thrive and we are excited to align with one of the best brand names in real estate to bring our clients an optimal experience from start to finish when buying a home,” said Cal Knecht, Co-Founder, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices First Magnolia Realty.

“We pride ourselves in offering the best experience for clients when it comes to real estate,” said Crystal Rush, Co-Founder, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices First Magnolia Realty. “The Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices brand is the pinnacle in the real estate industry and now that we are aligned with impeccable global leadership and more than 50,000 real estate professionals around the globe, we can now provide even further quality to our team to continue to uphold the standard of excellence.”

By joining the network, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices First Magnolia Realty agents gain access to Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices’ active referral and relocation networks, and its “FOREVER Cloud” technology suite, a powerful source for lead generation, marketing support, social media, video production/distribution and more.

The brand also provides an exclusive Luxury Collection marketing program for premier listings. Its Prestige Magazine showcases network members’ premium listings with a strong lineup of feature stories covering topics that appeal to high-end real estate clients.

“Cal and Crystal bring more than 17 years of market experience and we are pleased to welcome such a dynamic group of agents to our global brand,” said Christy Budnick, CEO, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. “With their powerful leadership and the successful team they have built, their legacy is only beginning.”

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices First Magnolia Realty has plans for continued growth within the area over the next few years and is actively involved with the Columbus and East Alabama Board of Realtors, Lee Country Association of Realtors, and the National Association of Realtors.

© 2022 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Mouser Electronics Named Distributor of the Year by Hirose Electric USA

Mouser Electronics

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway’s Mouser Electronics, Inc. has been named the 2021 Distributor of the Year by Hirose Electric USA, a leader in the design and manufacture of innovative connector solutions.

Hirose Distribution Manager, Adrian Orat, presented the award to the Mouser team at EDS 2022 in Las Vegas.

The Distributor of the Year award recognizes sales and growth, as well as customer service and satisfaction.

“Each year, Hirose recognizes our top performing distribution partner in appreciation of their commitment and value to our shared goals. Mouser has once again achieved impressive sales growth with Hirose in 2021,” said Mark Kojak, CMO and Senior VP of Sales and Operations for Hirose Electric USA. “Mouser is a valued partner that continues to play a critical role in helping Hirose’s customers solve dynamic challenges in a wide range of markets and applications. We are pleased to recognize Mouser with this award for the second year in a row.”

“We are honored to receive this prestigious award, which recognizes our mutual success through the hard work and ingenuity of both companies,” said Krystal Jackson, Mouser’s Vice President of Supplier Management. “Our long-lasting partnership has delivered exceptional performance for both companies, and we are thankful to be named Distributor of the Year.”

© 2022 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Berkshire Hathaway Gets Approval for Natural Gas Pipeline

Berkshire Hathaway Energy

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway’s Kern River Gas Transmission Company has received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for its proposed 36 miles of 24-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline.

The pipeline will run from Wyoming to Utah to the Intermountain Power Project.

Run by the Intermountain Power Agency, and located in the Great Basin region of western Utah, the IPP currently generates an average of more than 13 million megawatt hours of energy each year from its two coal-fired units. The energy is delivered over the project’s AC and DC transmission systems to 35 participants in the project that principally serve Utah and Southern California.

The new Kern River pipeline will enable the IPP to convert the coal-fired units to cleaner natural gas.

Kern River’s Mike Loeffler noted that the pipeline “will provide needed energy with reduced greenhouse gas emissions to communities in both Utah and California.”

© 2022 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Lessons From Warren Buffett: The Magic of Stock Buybacks

Lessons From Warren Buffett

American Express, Apple, Coca-Cola, what do they all have in common? They are among the myriad companies that regularly buy back their own stock. For example, Apple bought back $81 billion of its share in 2021 alone. Warren Buffet is quick to point out the incredible advantages of stock buybacks (as long as the company repurchasing its shares is doing so at a price below their intrinsic value). It’s the easiest investing there is. As a shareholder, you are gaining an ever larger stake in a company, tax free, all without doing a thing.

“We owned 150 million shares of American Express. I think we bought our last share in 1998, or something like that, and we then owned 11.2% of the American Express company. And since then, they’ve sent us a check every quarter as a dividend. And so, we’ve taken some cash a little bit as they’ve gone along. And now we own 20% of American Express. Now, that’s what’s happened because they repurchased shares,” Warren Buffett said at the 2022 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. “And like I say, we’ve gone from 11.2% to 20%. And if you’re using your American [Express] card, or whatever it may be, 20% of whatever earnings contribute a little to our interest that used to be 11.2%, and we’ve done it without putting up any money. Now, imagine if you owned a farm, and you had 640 acres, and you farmed it every year, and you made a little money on it, and you enjoyed farming, and somehow, twenty or so years later, it had turned into 1,100 or 1,200 acres. . . . If you do it at the right price, there’s nothing better than buying in your own business. . . . It is the simplest thing in the world, and then I read all this stuff. It is unbelievable how people can’t figure out something that, you know, if they owned a farm and the guy next to them had a farm and somehow you were getting more of his farm all the time without putting up any money, while you farmed your own farm . . . you’d feel very good about it.”

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© 2022 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Expands in Wisconsin

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices has announced its further expansion in the state of Wisconsin with the addition of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Matson Real Estate. The growth comes on the heels of the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices network’s growth in Massachusetts and Florida.

With over 45 years of industry experience, President Thomas W. Matson will lead the brokerage. On joining the brand Thomas said, “Having the opportunity to align with one of the country’s largest names in real estate and brand recognition, paired with our firm’s wealth of experience is a winning combination. We share the same values of trust, integrity, stability and longevity. This is an affiliation that will help us to provide an even more stellar experience to our clients from start to finish.”

By joining the network, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Matson Real Estate agents gain access to Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices’ active referral and relocation networks, and its “FOREVER Cloud” technology suite, a powerful source for lead generation, marketing support, social media, video production/distribution and more.

The brand also provides an exclusive Luxury Collection marketing program for premier listings. Its Prestige Magazine showcases network members’ premium listings with a strong lineup of feature stories covering topics that appeal to high-end real estate clients.

“We are thrilled to align with such a remarkable group of professionals to grow our presence in Wisconsin further,” said Christy Budnick, CEO, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. “The leadership, agents and teams joining the brand are known for their work ethic, professionalism and dedication to client services. We are excited to bring the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Forever Agent℠ story to the clients in Stoughton, Wisconsin and beyond.”

© 2022 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Adds Homegenius Technology

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices is adding homegenius, a full-service ecosystem of real estate services leveraging advanced technology and the latest developments in data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), for its 50,418 U.S. based agents.

Through this agreement with homegenius Inc., a subsidiary of Radian Group Inc., homegenius will enable Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices’ network agents, brokers and owners to access homegenius’s geniusprice property intelligence engine. geniusprice technology gives brokers and agents access to next-level analytics and insights in an interface that’s easy to use and takes home price estimates to a new level.

“By leveraging powerful computer vision technology, homegenius’ revolutionary property intelligence engine has made the traditional Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) report obsolete by marrying advanced valuation automation with local property data in an entirely new way. With the opportunities provided by this relationship, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices’ network agents can save time, streamline their workflow, deepen their market analyses, and build their pipelines of qualified leads, while offering a truly personalized search for homes that meet a buyers’ specific requirements,” added Jose Perez, Senior Vice President, Business Development.

© 2022 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Link Transit Purchases 8 More BYD Battery-Electric Buses

Minority Stock Positions, Stock Portfolio

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway-backed BYD has announced that Wenatchee, Washington-based Link Transit has purchased eight additional 30-foot American-made BYD battery-electric buses, building on Link’s long commitment to energy-saving, zero-emission transit technology.

The eight new BYD buses will complement Link’s growing all-electric fleet of 12 30- and 35-foot vehicles, with three additional 35-foot buses on order. Once the new vehicles are delivered, nearly half of Link’s total heavy-duty fleet of 48 vehicles will be all electric.

“We’re thankful for our partnership with Link Transit and to have the opportunity to provide their community with state-of-the-art clean-technology vehicles that are redefining public transportation,” said Patrick Duan, BYD’s Senior Vice President of Operations.

The eight new buses are being built by BYD at its Lancaster, California, Coach & Bus Manufacturing facility.
Every American-built, zero-emission BYD bus eliminates approximately 1,690 tons of carbon dioxide over its 12-year lifespan, according to the U.S. Transportation Department. This is equivalent to taking 27 cars off the road. Each bus also eliminates 10 tons of nitrogen oxides and 350 pounds of diesel particulate matter, improving air quality in the communities that they serve.

“These vehicles have been a tremendous success for us. Without opportunity charging, we’re seeing a range of 190 usable miles. With our Momentum Dynamics wireless opportunity chargers, we are extending this range to over 300 miles per day by charging the vehicles for 5 to 7 minutes 4 – 5 times per day while the vehicle is in the terminal on its hourly end of run lay-over. We have succeeded in replacing our diesel buses with our BYD buses on a one-to-one basis. We use these vehicles for all of our urban routes, in everyday use, with significantly lower operating costs. BYD has been great to work with,” said Richard DeRock, General Manager of Link Transit.

The Link Transit battery-electric fleet in 2022, averages 44 cents a mile in total operating costs, versus 88 cents a mile for its diesel vehicles. (With the recent run-up of diesel prices, the cost per mile has increased to 92 cents).

DeRock noted that the battery-electric buses have been particularly effective in navigating the extreme climate conditions within Link Transit’s service area. “It’s a very challenging operating environment – our winters are cold, and we can see 100 degrees in the summer. Finding vehicles that can maintain their effective range under these conditions is critically important,” he said.

BYD and Berkshire Hathaway

In 2008, Berkshire Hathaway bet on BYD’s potential, purchasing 225 million shares for $232 million. It’s an investment that has paid off handsomely. Berkshire’s original investment of $232 million had grown in value to $7.69 billion as of December 31, 2021.

© 2022 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway and BYD, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Lessons From Warren Buffett: You’re Neither Right nor Wrong Because People Agree With You or Disagree

Lessons From Warren Buffett, Value Investing,

Warren Buffett believes firmly that the work of the investor is to find opportunities, and it makes no difference if other people agree with you or not.

“Ben Graham said long ago that you’re neither right nor wrong because people agree with you or disagree with you,” Warren Buffett noted at the 2006 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. “You’re right because your facts and reasoning are right. So all you do is you try to make sure that the facts you have are correct. . . . And then once you have the facts, you’ve got to think through what they mean. And you don’t take a public opinion survey. You don’t pay attention to things that are unimportant. I mean, what you’re looking for is something — things that are important and knowable. If something’s important but unknowable, forget it. I mean, it may be important, you know, whether somebody’s going to drop a nuclear weapon tomorrow but it’s unknowable. It may be all kinds of things. So you — and there are all kinds of things are that knowable but are unimportant. In focusing on business and investment decisions, you try to think — you narrow it down to the things that are knowable and important, and then you decide whether you have information of sufficient value that — you know, compared to price and all that, that will cause you to act. What others are doing means nothing.”

Hear Buffett’s full explanation

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© 2021 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Berkshire Hathaway Adds to Its Occidental Petroleum Stake

Minority Stock Positions, Stock Portfolio

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

A dip in the price of Occidental Petroleum has Warren Buffett resuming his purchases of OXY shares on May 10 and 11.

In its latest Form 4 filing Berkshire made the following purchases:

Common Stock 05/10/2022 716,355 $57.3161
Common Stock 05/02/2022 185,419 $57.3386

After these purchases, Berkshire holds 143,162,392  shares of OXY common stock.

In addition to its over 15% stake in OXY common stock, Berkshire also holds 200,000 series A preferred stock shares and warrants that Berkshire for roughly 84M shares of common stock at $59.624 per share.

© 2022 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Kraft Heinz Tests Paper-Based, Renewable and Recyclable Ketchup Bottle

Kraft Heinz

HEINZ, maker of the world’s favorite ketchup and beloved condiments, is teaming up with Pulpex to develop a paper-based, renewable and recyclable bottle made from 100 percent sustainably sourced wood pulp.

Innovating its iconic ketchup bottle, HEINZ is the first sauce brand to test the potential of Pulpex’s sustainable paper bottle packaging for its range of world-famous condiments.

HEINZ, maker of the world’s favorite ketchup and beloved condiments, is teaming up with Pulpex to develop a paper-based, renewable and recyclable bottle made from 100 percent sustainably sourced wood pulp. (Photo: Business Wire)

For Kraft Heinz, this collaboration is the latest step in its journey to reduce its environmental footprint. It progresses the Company’s sustainable packaging ambitions, in that it aligns with its goal to make all packaging globally recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. It is also an innovation that will help Kraft Heinz achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

HEINZ and Pulpex are developing a prototype to test how the cutting-edge innovation could be used for HEINZ Tomato Ketchup bottles and other packaging formats in years to come. Pulpex’s current data indicates the carbon footprint of Pulpex bottles is materially less than glass and plastic on a bottle-by-bottle basis. Once used, they are also expected to be widely and readily recyclable in paper waste streams.

“Packaging waste is an industrywide challenge that we must all do our part to address,” said Kraft Heinz CEO Miguel Patricio. “That is why we are committed to taking steps to explore sustainable packaging solutions across our brands at Kraft Heinz, offering consumers more choices. This new HEINZ bottle is one example of how we are applying creativity and innovation to explore new ways to provide consumers with the products they know and love while also thinking sustainably.”

The next step in the process will involve prototype testing to assess performance before testing with consumers and bringing the bottle to market.

“We hope to bring this bottle to market and to be the first sauce brand to provide consumers this choice in their purchasing decisions, as many consumers today are looking for more sustainable packaging options,” said Rashida La Lande, EVP & Global General Counsel and Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer at Kraft Heinz. “We’re eager to continue discovering more sustainable packaging for our beloved and iconic brands.”

“We are delighted to work with HEINZ to bring our patented packaging technology to such a famous name in food and are excited about the potential of this collaboration,” said Scott Winston, Pulpex CEO. “We believe that the scope for paper-based packaging is huge, and when global household names like HEINZ embrace this type of innovative technology, it’s good news for everyone – consumers and the planet.”

The pulp-based bottle would become the newest option available to HEINZ Tomato Ketchup fans, joining the recyclable HEINZ iconic glass bottle and plastic bottle, as well as plastic squeeze bottles with their 30 percent recycled content (available only in the E.U.) and 100 percent recyclable caps.

© 2022 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.