If fans of Warren Buffett are miffed about a Woodstock of Capitalism they can’t attend in person, they can rest assured that Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts isn’t thrilled either about the blow to the state’s tourist activity....
Berkshire said most of its more than 90 businesses have faced "relatively minor to severe" negative effects from COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, with revenue slowing considerably in April even at businesses deemed "essential." The BNSF railroad saw shipping volumes fall, Geico set aside money for car insurance premiums it doesn't expect to collect, and some businesses cut wages and furloughed workers. Buffett also allowed Berkshire's cash stake to rise to a record $137.3 billion from $128 billion at the end of 2019....
A year earlier, net earnings totaled $21.66 billion, or $13,209 per share. Quarterly operating profit, which Buffett considers a better performance measure, rose 6% to $5.87 billion, or about $3,624 per Class A share $5.56 billion, or about $3,388 per share. An accounting rule requires Berkshire to report unrealized stock losses and gains with earnings....
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- As the coronavirus pandemic continues, Bloomberg Opinion will be running a series of features by our columnists that consider the long-term consequences of the crisis. This column is part of a package envisioning a new consumer economy. As Hollywood sets sit empty because of the Covid-19 pandemic, streaming-video apps that were just getting off the ground are now running out of fresh movies and TV episodes. But this is only a hiccup compared to the vexing problem that awaits the industry when it finally emerges from the crisis. Is it possible to make money in the business of streaming?The meteoric rise of Netflix Inc. has warped the U.S. media industry, forcing companies such as Walt Disney Co. and AT&T Inc. that have long enjoyed fat profits to embrace a business model that is fundamentally broken: Spend billions of dollars to create an endless supply of content, then sell monthly access to this deluxe all-you-can-eat buffet for little more than the cost of dinner...
