Thousands of Berkshire Hathaway (+0.18%) shareholders converged on Omaha, Nebraska this past weekend for the firm’s annual meeting. It’s basically the Woodstock of capitalism, so yes, it’s kind of a big deal.
In fact, the event has garnered such a reputation that many people purchase a single share of the world’s fourth-largest public company just to attend the famous event.
But at $250,000 per share as of Friday’s close, it’d still cost them a pretty penny.Six-and-a-half hours
That’s a long time for anyone to be on stage, but for CEO Warren Buffett (86) and his right-hand man Charlie Munger (93), it took more than a few Diet Cokes and peanut brittle to get through 50 shareholder questions.
Here are just a few of the takeaways:
The unemployment rate fell to 4.4% in April, with American companies adding 211,000 jobs— roughly 20,000 higher than economists expected. It’s huge improvement over March’s meager 79,000.
We’re now comfortably under the Fed’s goal of 4.7% unemployment and getting really close to full employment. Smooth sailing, right? Sure, but this presents its own set of challenges. With a smaller pool to pick from, it’s harder for companies to find people with that perfect skill set they’re looking for. All in all, it’s not a bad problem to have. Nice work, American businesses.
It sounds like the plot of a sci-fi movie, but Uber’s Greyball tool is very much real life, and now the ride-hailing firm is facing a criminal investigation for it. The software rolled out in places Uber wasn’t exactly allowed to yet, letting it gain traction in a new area without pesky oversight.
As for what the software actually did? It thwarted officials trying to shut Uber down in these forbidden markets by geo-fencing (blocking) government buildings, identifying government-issued credit cards and showing a fake version of the app to law enforcement agencies. After Uber’s tumultuous recent months, a criminal investigation has to be the last thing CEO Travis Kalanick wants…but it’s exactly what he’s getting.
Saudi Arabia is reportedly in talks with the U.S. for an arms deal worth billions. While purchases like these are nothing new (the U.S. is responsible for about a third of the world’s weapons sales, with Saudi Arabia the biggest recipient) some American companies can make a hefty profit off of war-related purchases. Here’s who stands to benefit:
Schools are banning them. Retailers are paying high prices to stock them overnight. Even the Brew Crew has a few in the office. But Catherine Hettinger of Florida, the inventor of the original fidget spinner, couldn’t afford the renewal fee for her 12-year-old patent, and off it went into unprofitable generic land. Here are some other notable inventors who didn’t exactly reap riches from their creations:
You’re standing on the surface of the Earth. You walk one mile south, one mile west and one mile north. You end up exactly where you started. Where are you?
It’s Elon Musk’s favorite question to ask candidates. There are multiple answers that are correct, so check yours here.
77% — That’s the alcoholic content that Canadian authorities found in some Bombay Sapphire gin bottles last week, forcing a recall. If you’re not a cocktail connoisseur, gin is only supposed to contain 40% alcohol. But something tells us not too many of the affected customers were clamoring to return their juiced-up bottles.
Legendary hedge funder manager Paul Tudor Jones has established a new firm called “Just Capital” to keep American businesses from getting too out of touch. It will use data to educate people about which companies are “just” and which ones are less-than-fair.
Our bad: Friday’s issue incorrectly spelled Warren Buffett’s last name. Don’t worry, we triple-checked in today’s issue.
