Posts by Kim Browne
Berkshire Posts Gain in Profits, Boosted by U.S. Treasury Holdings
Warren E. Buffett, the famed investor known for his enthusiasm for undervalued stocks and businesses, is feeling bullish these days about a traditionally staid investment: Treasury bills. The cash stockpile held by Berkshire Hathaway, his sprawling multinational conglomerate, rose past $334 billion at the end of last year, including $286 billion in short-term Treasuries. The…
Read MoreOfficials Fired at Traffic Safety Agency Investigating Musk’s Company
The federal agency responsible for traffic safety, which has been investigating whether self-driving technology in Tesla vehicles played a role in the death of a pedestrian, will fire a “modest” number of employees, an agency spokesman said late Friday. The agency did not say whether any of the fired employees were involved in investigations of…
Read MoreComparing Elon Musk and Jack Welch as Influential Cost-Cutters
And while the two were both politically conservative, Welch was more of a country-club Republican, partial to golf and no fan — at least earlier on — of Donald Trump. While a savvy political operator, Welch was unlikely to have decamped to Mar-a-Lago to personally and intensely cozy up to the president-elect, as Musk did.…
Read MoreTrump’s Own Pollster Just Hit Him with Very Bad News—and a Warning
By the way, don’t overlook the poll’s finding about the popularity of extending the expanded ACA subsidies. This, too, puts Republicans in a difficult spot. The nonprofit group KFF calculates that Republicans represent more than half of ACA enrollees likely to see large premium jumps if the subsidies expire. “House GOP constituents would see the…
Read MoreBig Day for Crypto Goes South After Bybit Hack
The good news for cryptocurrency investors arrived just after 8 a.m. on Friday: Coinbase, the largest crypto marketplace in the United States, had reached a deal with U.S. regulators to dismiss a lawsuit that had hung over the industry for years. But within hours, the crypto market descended into a new crisis. At 10:51 a.m.,…
Read MoreCan a Year-End Bonus Be Docked If You Took Maternity Leave?
Is it fair for management to dock someone’s annual incentive pay because of a maternity or medical leave? Source link
Read MoreMarkets and Corporate America Are Unfazed by Washington Chaos, for Now
Even by Washington standards, the second Trump presidency has begun in frenetic fashion: mass firings at federal agencies, tariff threats against allies and foes alike, and haggling over how to get a Republican budget through a narrowly divided Congress. Business leaders and corporate investors are confident that things will turn out fine, at least for…
Read MoreWall Street Is Getting Antsy With Trump
President Trump’s keynote this week at a Saudi sovereign wealth fund’s conference in Miami Beach might have seemed like another jubilant pep rally attended by adoring fans and key lieutenants. Elon Musk sat in the front under a vast rotunda, not far from the real estate billionaire Steve Witkoff, now a White House special envoy…
Read MoreCoffee Prices Are at a 50-Year High. Producers Aren’t Celebrating.
These should be wonderful times at Finca El Puente, a coffee plantation carved into the mountains of southwestern Honduras. On world markets, the price of ordinary coffee has more than doubled over the past year. The specialty varieties of coffee harvested at the farm have long commanded a hefty premium, reflecting their status as the…
Read MoreIs Xi’s Sudden Embrace of Business for Real? China Is Left Guessing.
When Xi Jinping, China’s leader, made his entrance at a symposium with a group of top entrepreneurs this week, he seemed to be in good spirits. China has had a few good weeks. The artificial intelligence models by the start-up DeepSeek sent U.S. stocks tumbling and Western commentators screaming, “Sputnik moment.” Then an animated film…
Read MorePatsy Grimaldi, Whose Name Became Synonymous With Pizza, Dies at 93
Patsy Grimaldi, a restaurateur whose coal-oven pizzeria in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge won new fans for New York City’s oldest pizza style with carefully made pies that helped start a national movement toward artisan pizza, died on Feb. 13 in Queens. He was 93. His nephew Frederick Grimaldi confirmed the death, at NewYork-Presbyterian…
Read MoreVeterinarian and 13 Horse Trainers Violated Drug Rules, U.S. Regulator Says
A veterinarian and 13 trainers, seeking an edge at a Pennsylvania racetrack, injected pain medications into the joints of more than 100 horses in violation of federal rules, the federal agency that now regulates the sport said on Friday. Afterward, 30 percent of the horses never raced again and 10 percent were declared lame post-race…
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