Billionaire investor Warren Buffett says he had hoped to make several multibillion-dollar acquisitions last year, but found few options.
"I found very few attractive securities to buy," Buffett wrote in the annual report for his company Berkshire Hathaway. Berkshire ended last year with US$43 billion of cash equivalents, something that Buffett, the company's chief executive, called "not a happy position."
The bulk of the letter was positive, and the 74-year-old investment icon said he and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, 81, would not be deterred.
"Charlie and I will work to translate some of this hoard into more interesting assets during 2005, though we can't promise success," he wrote.
Quiet oracle
Buffett, known widely as the "Oracle of Omaha" for his insight into all things financial, was mum on the subject of an investigation of alleged bid-rigging and price-fixing in the insurance industry by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. Buffett received a subpoena in January and has said he would cooperate. His insurance holdings include auto insurer Geico.
It's no surprise he wasn't able to find any companies to acquire last year, because it's a seller's market and there's a lot of activity in mergers and acquisitions, said Steve Kaplan, a professor at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.
"He won't find anything this year either," Kaplan said. "Since he likes to buy things cheap, it's harder to find."
Shares of Berkshire Hathaway class-A stock fell US$302, or less than 1 percent, to close at US$89,300 Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.
Berkshire's profit fell 10 percent from nearly US$8.2 billion in 2003 to US$7.3 billion last year. However, its fourth-quarter results were strong, with net earnings climbing to US$3.34 billion, up some 40 percent from the same period in 2003.
In his letter to shareholders, Buffett highlighted the company's gains in book value -- which determines value by looking at a company's assets minus its liabilities -- as opposed to its true market value of about US$135 billion, or nearly US$90,000 per share.
He said Berkshire Hathaway posted a gain in book value net worth of US$8.3 billion last year, a per-share increase of 10.5 percent and just short of the S&P 500's gain of 10.9 percent last year. In 2003, the company saw a 21 percent increase in book value while the S&P 500 grew by 28.7 percent.
A call to Berkshire Hathaway offices seeking comment Saturday was not immediately returned.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source