Apple stock surges after Warren Buffett’s hefty investment

Warren Buffet has been wary of making tech-related investments in the past because he reportedly doesn’t understand it, but apparently, the octogenarian investment guru has had a change of heart.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BH), the conglomerate run by Buffett, disclosed in a regulatory filing on Monday (Tuesday in Manila) that it purchased more than 9.8 million shares in Apple during the first quarter.

The move marks BH’s first investment with Apple, which has been steadily adding to its stake in IBM (International Business Machines) in recent years, as per reports from stock market website, MarketWatch.

Shortly after the purchase, the California tech giant’s stock experienced a 2 percent surge during premarket trades.

BH acquired its position at an average price of about $109 a share, the report said, while the value of the original investment,  $1.1 billion, has already dropped significantly due to the slow demand for iPhones in recent months.

The company also disclosed that it had sold over 99 percent of its holdings in Procter & Gamble, retaining just 315K shares in the multinational product manufacturer, to make room for the Apple investment.

BH also reportedly thinned its holdings of multi-national retail corporation, Walmart by 1.7%

Apple’s stock price, meanwhile, has since fallen to just above $90, meaning that Berkshire’s stake in Apple is now worth about $888 million.

BH is also reportedly eyeing  a takeover bid for the core assets of another struggling Internet company, Yahoo. Khristian Ibarrola

source: business.inquirer.net

Warren Buffett backs $1 billion NCAA March Madness tournament contest

LOS ANGELES - Business tycoon Warren Buffett has teamed up with Quicken Loans to offer Americans a $1 billion prize for picking the winner of every game in this year's US NCAA men's college basketball tournament.

The odds of filling out a perfect bracket for the 64-team National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) event known as "March Madness"? One expert put it at more than nine quintillion to one.

Quicken said the money would be paid out to anyone who correctly picks the winners of each game in the annual single-elimination tournament to determine the top team in American college basketball.

The contest is free to enter and open to the first 10 million people who apply. The prize money will be paid out in 40 annual payments of $25 million, or a one-time lump sum of $500 million.

If more than one perfect bracket is submitted, the winning entrants will split the money.

Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is insuring the contest, but the chances of him having to fork over the jackpot at the end of the 64-team tournament on April 7 are slim indeed.

Jeffrey Bergen, a professor of mathematics at Chicago's DePaul University, told The New York Times the odds of choosing all game winners are more than the number nine quintillion, or the number nine followed by 18 zeros, to one.

"I don't think we need to lose any sleep for Mr. Buffett tonight," said Bergen. - AFP

source: gmanetwork.com