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Berkshire Hathaway for $68? Sweet! (CNNMoney)

Admin — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:09:23 +0000

Stock splits don’t change the value of a company. But a lower share price for Warren Buffett’s firm (and other triple-digit stocks) could attract more investors

I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a spare $101,900 stuffed under my couch cushions to buy an “A” share of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. I probably could scrounge together $3,395 for one “B” share, but I would rather not.

However, the possibility of spending $1,000 to purchase 15 so-called “Baby Berkshire” B shares is somewhat intriguing. And soon, you and I will have the chance to do so.

When Buffett announced earlier this week that Berkshire (BRKA, Fortune 500) was buying railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNI, Fortune 500) for a mix of cash and stock, Berkshire also announced a 50-1 stock split of the company’s B shares. [Full Story]

AIG profitable for second straight quarter

Admin — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:04:08 +0000

The troubled insurer said it continues to benefit from stabilization in the housing and credit markets, but future quarters will continue to be volatile. AIG reported its second profitable quarter in a row early Friday, as stabilization in its insurance businesses, and the credit and mortgage markets helped boost results.

The troubled insurer said its net income rose to $455 million, or 68 cents per share, an improvement over the $24.5 billion loss from a year earlier. Results included a one-time net charge of $1.5 billion for capital losses and hedging. [Full Story]

Job market report disappoints Wall Street (CNNMoney)

Admin — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:01:40 +0000

Higher-than-expected payroll losses for October could set markets lower after rally that pushed Dow back above 10,000. U.S. stocks were set to fall Friday after the government reported higher-than-expected payroll losses for October and an increase in unemployment. S&P 500, Nasdaq-100 and Dow Jones industrial average futures were lower, losing their lukewarm gains immediately after the payroll report.

Futures measure current index values against their perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins. The blue-chip Dow reclaimed the 10,000 mark Thursday after a batch of positive economic news sparked a rally on Wall Street. [Full Story]

Jobless Rate Hits 10.2% – BusinessWeek

Admin — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:49:34 +0000

The U.S. unemployment rate jumped from 9.8% to 10.2% in October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Nov.6. That rate exceeds economists’ estimates of 9.9% and is the highest since April 1983.

Nonfarm payroll employment declined by 190,000, more than the 175,000 jobs that economists had forecast. The largest job losses in October were in construction, manufacturing, and retail. The economy lost 219,000 jobs in September, revised from a previous estimate of 263,000. In the last three months, job losses have averaged 188,000 per month, compared with an average of 357,000 during the prior three months.

While the rate of job loss is slowing, the recession has had a devastating impact on the job market. Since December 2007, employers have shed 8.2 million jobs, sending the unemployment rate up 5.3 percentage points [Full Story]