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BNSF

BNSF Reaches $1 million Settlement for Pollution of Washington’s Rivers

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Rather than wage a prolonged legal battle that could possibly end with it on the hook for massive damages, BNSF Railways has reached a settlement agreement with seven environmental groups that contend the railroad has polluted Washington’s rivers due to coal dust from its coal shipments.

BNSF has admitted no wrongdoing, but has agreed to pay $1 million in support of environmental clean-up projects in Bellingham, Puget Sound, the Columbia River and Spokane River.

The seven environmental groups, which included the Sierra Club and National Resources Defense Council, first sued BNSF in 2013, alleging that the freight railroad violated the federal Clean Water Act.

The settlement heads off lawsuits that alleged trillions of dollars of damages that came from the dust that blew off open-topped hopper cars.

The railroad has also agreed to study the use of physical covers for coal and petroleum coke trains in order to reduce or eliminate the source of the pollution.

“This puts them on a path to the ultimate solution to stop the discharge of coal into our nation’s waterways,” said Charlie Tebbutt, who is the lead attorney representing the environmental groups.

© 2017 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.

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Mouser Electronics

ERP Power Signs Distribution Agreement with Mouser Electronics

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

ERP Power LLC (ERP), a leading provider of small, smart and efficient LED drivers for the lighting industry, has signed a distribution agreement with Berkshire Hathaway’s Mouser Electronics, Inc., the industry’s leading New Product Introduction (NPI) distributor.

“It’s exciting to be literally powering the change to LED lighting across all types of businesses,” said Andy Williams, ERP executive vice president. “Mouser’s excellent customer service caters to engineers and the lighting design community, making online purchases quick and easy when designing unique, next generation LED lighting fixtures.”

ERP LED drivers deliver an industry-leading combination of compact size, embedded intelligence, extensive dimmer compatibility, wired/wireless controls, programmable outputs, and high efficiency – all at a competitive cost.

“LED lighting reduces utility costs, improves safety, creates ambiance, and enables interactive experiences wherever there are people,” said Keith Privett, Mouser Electronics VP Supplier Management. “ERP and Mouser want to collaborate with lighting fixture designers as we introduce new bright ideas for packing more power into smaller footprints – delivering cost savings for each application.”

© 2017 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.

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Minority Stock Positions Stock Portfolio

BYD Gets Major EV Bus Order from Australian Company

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

China’s BYD Company has secured an order for 40 pure electric buses from Australian airport ground transportation provider Carbridge.

The contract was signed at the end of January in the presence of senior executives from BYD and Carbridge, three months after the first BYD Electric Blu bus made its commercial debut at Sydney Airport.

“We are the first Chinese company to crack Australia’s electric bus market, having come a long way since the trial of our electric buses at the country’s busiest airport in Sydney in late 2014,” said Liu Xueliang, General Manager of BYD’s Asia Pacific Auto Sales Division. “This additional order from a large transport provider like Carbridge is testimony to our quality service and state of the art technology – and was a very nice present just before the Lunar New Year.”

The Electric Blu bus has a carrying capacity of 70 passengers; features purpose-designed luggage storage racks and has a range of 400km on a single charge. The fleet of six currently in operation at Sydney Airport is also estimated to lower carbon emissions by 160 tons a year, reduce waste fluids and noise levels.

BYD and Berkshire Hathaway

In 2008, Berkshire Hathaway bet on BYD’s potential, purchasing 225 million shares. It’s an investment that has paid off handsomely. Berkshire’s original investment of $230 million is now worth roughly $1.77 billion.

For More on BYD, read the Special Report: BYD, Berkshire’s Tesla.

© 2017 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.

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Minority Stock Positions Stock Portfolio Warren Buffett

No Forever, Buffett Says

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

In Warren Buffett’s latest annual letter to shareholders, Buffett clarified his view on what are sometimes called his “forever stocks.” These refer to Berkshire’s long-held positions in Coca-Cola and American Express, among others. These represent huge holdings where the cost basis is now so low that the annual dividends in some cases equal or come near the original cost of acquisition. Often, investors assume that Buffett’s love for these stocks means that he would never sell them. That’s not true, says Buffet, and he went out of his way this year to clarify that there is no such thing as a “forever stock.”

“Sometimes the comments of shareholders or media imply that we will own certain stocks “forever.” It is true that we own some stocks that I have no intention of selling for as far as the eye can see (and we’re talking 20/20 vision). But we have made no commitment that Berkshire will hold any of its marketable securities forever.”

© 2017 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.

Categories
Warren Buffett

Two Important Things We Learned from Buffett’s Latest Shareholders Letter

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Warren Buffett’s annual letter to shareholders came out on Saturday morning, and as usual, it gave great insight into Buffett’s outlook on both Berkshire Hathaway, investing, and his view on the prospects for the American economy.

Here’s two important things we learned:

Buffett is Bullish on the American Economy

Through recessions, and even the recent Great Recession, Warren Buffett has remained bullish on the prospects of the American economy. Competition from China, India or the EU, has not dimmed his optimism, and looking back historically, he still believes there is no better time to have been born into the American economy than today.

“This economic creation will deliver increasing wealth to our progeny far into the future. Yes, the build-up of wealth will be interrupted for short periods from time to time. It will not, however, be stopped. I’ll repeat what I’ve both said in the past and expect to say in future years: Babies born in America today are the luckiest crop in history.”

Buffett Believes that Overall, Hedge Funds Have Sold Snake Oil to Wealthy Investors and Pension Funds

Expanding on a presentation he gave at the 2016 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting, Buffett again made clear that the high fees charged by Hedge fund managers made it inevitable that overall, they would underperform a simple low-fee S&P 500 index fund. He attributes the siren song that draws the wealthy and pension funds to active management is due to a mistaken belief that you get what you pay for.

“The wealthy are accustomed to feeling that it is their lot in life to get the best food, schooling, entertainment, housing, plastic surgery, sports ticket, you name it. Their money, they feel, should buy them something superior compared to what the masses receive. In many aspects of life, indeed, wealth does command top-grade products or services. For that reason, the financial “elites” – wealthy individuals, pension funds, college endowments and the like – have great trouble meekly signing up for a financial product or service that is available as well to people investing only a few thousand dollars. This reluctance of the rich normally prevails even though the product at issue is –on an expectancy basis – clearly the best choice. My calculation, admittedly very rough, is that the search by the elite for superior investment advice has caused it, in aggregate, to waste more than $100 billion over the past decade. Figure it out: Even a 1% fee on a few trillion dollars adds up. Of course, not every investor who put money in hedge funds ten years ago lagged S&P returns. But I believe my calculation of the aggregate shortfall is conservative.”

© 2017 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.

Categories
Minority Stock Positions Stock Portfolio

BYD to Build Two Latin America Factories

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

China’s BYD Company plans to set up two new factories in Latin America in 2017 to expand the market penetration of its world class electric buses.

The new manufacturing facilities will produce vehicles for the local markets and add to existing plants in the US, Hungary and Brazil.

BYD’s electric bus and other new energy vehicles have a footprint in 240 cities across 50 countries.

In January 2017, the company was selected as the recommended company by the evaluation committee in Argentina for the purchase of 50 electric buses on behalf of the Ministry of Environment.

In keeping with its other Latin American expansion plans, the Mayor of the Uruguayan city of Montevideo, Eng. Daniel Martinez has become the first mayor in Latin America to have an electric vehicle as an official car. The BYD e6 was delivered to Mr Martinez with a license plate number reserved for the city’s top official – “SIM 1”.

It is a first for the city to have an electric vehicle for a senior government official, and is in line with the country’s move towards cleaner transportation and power.

Uruguay has made sizeable investments in green energy in recent years leaping 16 places to be ranked 10 in the World Economic Forum.
BYD and Berkshire Hathaway

In 2008, Berkshire Hathaway bet on BYD’s potential, purchasing 225 million shares. It’s an investment that has paid off handsomely. Berkshire’s original investment of $230 million is now worth roughly $1.77 billion.

For More on BYD, read the Special Report: BYD, Berkshire’s Tesla.

© 2017 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.

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Berkadia

Berkadia Arranges $262.5 Million in Acquisition financing for Cleveland’s Key Center

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkadia, Berkshire Hathaway’s joint venture with Leucadia National Corporation, has arranged $262.5 million in acquisition financing for Key Center, Cleveland’s tallest skyscraper—a 1.3 million-square-foot, Class-A office tower and the adjacent Marriott Hotel and parking structure.

The property is located in Cleveland’s Public Square. Senior Director Mark Vogel secured the acquisition loan, representing Berkadia’s largest conduit loan to date. The deal was completed on January 31, 2017.

Berkadia represented The Millennia Companies, which is headquartered in Cleveland. The seller was Columbia Property Trust, Inc. The 10-year senior mortgage fixed loan lead by Citibank, included Bank of America and Deutsche Bank. Apollo Global Management provided the mezzanine debt financing.

“Key Center is an iconic part of Cleveland’s skyline and represents the state of Ohio’s tallest building,” said Vogel. “The institutions involved in this transaction acted extremely aggressively. They provided a substantial portion of the required capital to facilitate the acquisition and fund future improvements related to the hotel’s redevelopment and the building’s increased occupancy. Berkadia worked diligently with the entire Millennia team, and it was truly a collaborative effort.”

Built in 1991, the integrated, mixed-use complex Key Center comprises a 57-story office tower, a 400-room Marriott Hotel and a parking structure. It also houses the headquarters of both the property’s namesake, Key Bank, and law firm BakerHostetler.

At the end of 2016, the office tower was 82 percent leased. A portion of the asset will become Millennia’s new headquarters, moving hundreds of employees from Rockside Road to Key Tower over the next year. Millennia’s lease, along with the anticipated move of Forest City Realty Trust, Inc. to Key Center, will increase the building’s occupancy up to 95 percent.

“We are already in the design phase of a $24 million renovation to the tower lobby, plaza and hotel,” said Frank Sinito, president of The Millennia Companies.

About Berkadia

Founded in 2009 as a 50/50 joint venture between Berkshire Hathaway and Leucadia National Corporation, Berkadia is a third-party commercial mortgage servicer, as well as an approved lender for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and HUD/FHA.

The company is among the top Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae multifamily lenders.

Berkadia owes its origins to GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corporation, which was acquired in 2009 by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Five Mile Capital Partners LLC, and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners. Christened Capmark Financial, the company had $10 billion of originations in 2008 and a servicing portfolio of more than $360 billion before running into bankruptcy in October 2009.

In a deal approved by the bankruptcy court, Capmark sold its mortgage loan and servicing to the newly formed Berkadia in a deal worth $515 million.

The deal brought Berkshire into the heart of the commercial loan serving business, and the company has one of the largest commercial real estate servicing portfolios.

© 2017 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.

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Berkshire Hathaway Energy

Berkshire Rumored to Be Bidder in Australian Utility

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Berkshire Hathaway’s MidAmerican Energy Company, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, is rumored to be a bidder for Australian utility Endeavour Energy.

Endeavor Energy is a government owned electricity distributor that supplies electricity to 2.4 million people in households and businesses across Sydney’s Greater West, the Blue Mountains, Southern Highlands, the Illawarra and the South Coast.

A fifty-percent interest in Endeavor is being sold in a Deutsche and UBS-run auction, and there are currently three consortiums in the bidding.

However, a fourth consortium made up of MidAmerican Energy, Colonial First State and Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board is rumored to also be interested.

Berkshire Hathaway Energy is already active in the Australian energy market. It owns CalEnergy, which is currently drilling for natural gas in Australia’s Whicher Range gas field.

© 2017 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.

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Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices

Intero Real Estate Services Creates New Home Sales Division

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Intero Real Estate Services, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire’s HomeServices of America, Inc., has launched a new home sales division labeled Intero Development Group.

This newest offering from Intero fills what the company believes is a sales and marketing void for small, medium and large developers in and around the Bay Area.

The new division will utilize certified education to make sure the various developments have the most professional and qualified team supporting their needs. In addition, there will be varied tiers of the program offering that will fit development projects of any size.

Leading the Intero Development Group is Broker Associate and Intero Los Gatos Assistant Manager Mike D’Ambrosio, a seasoned real estate leader who has years of experience in residential, commercial and development projects throughout the Bay Area. Mr. D’Ambrosio will oversee all aspects of the division including marketing, sales and operations.

“As we continue to grow brokerage services available from Intero, a new home sales division is a natural addition to our residential and commercial offerings,” said Tom Tognoli, Intero President & Chief Executive Officer. “With Mike and his team at the helm of Intero Development Group, we’re confident that this program will be one more success to add to our resume.”

© 2017 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.

Categories
Minority Stock Positions Stock Portfolio

BYD Tops Global EV Sales Charts

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

China’s BYD Company., the Shenzhen-based new energy technology company was the highest selling manufacturer of new energy vehicles in 2016 for the second consecutive year.

According to figures compiled by EV Sales, a website that tracks the global market for new energy vehicles, BYD’s global sales of 100183 units represented a 70 percent increase from the previous year.

BYD Tang a powerful hybrid electric SUV first unveiled at the Beijing Motor Show in 2014 was the third best -selling model around the world, followed by the BYD Qin and BYD e6 which clinched the ninth and 10th place respectively.

“These results are very encouraging for us as we have invested heavily in researching and developing new energy technology for cars, buses and monorails among others,” said BYD’s Li Yunfei, Deputy General Manager of Branding and PR Division. “We believe new energy is one way we can deal with climate change and that is why we want to use our ‘Cool the Earth by 1 Degree’ campaign to increase public awareness of climate change and the many ways renewable energy can be generated, stored and used.”

Data tallied by EV Sales shows Chinese manufacturers of new energy vehicles are making advancements overseas while continuing to grow in-country.

Separately BYD was also ranked by China’s Highway and Transportation Society as last year’s top provider of electric buses that are longer than 10 meters.

BYD and Berkshire Hathaway

In 2008, Berkshire Hathaway bet on BYD’s potential, purchasing 225 million shares. It’s an investment that has paid off handsomely. Berkshire’s original investment of $230 million is now worth roughly $1.77 billion.

For More on BYD, read the Special Report: BYD, Berkshire’s Tesla.

© 2017 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.