Anyone seen those? Lately?

Couple weeks ago a lot were prancing and dancing. One wise (among the shorts) had even mentioned that they will get out of here AFTER they “break even” but had warned about some blah blah blah.

All that when seen against Buffett’s “this sucker isn’t going anywhere” is quite interesting.

Specially, as the SpaceX rocket is experiencing (un)expected pull of gravity…. May be the stars aren’t linked that strongly either ;-)

And then we have Buffett’s words (with tongue in cheek) that he will continue to work for five years after his death!!

Enjoy the ride fellows, while it lasts ;-)

​

Q: What is "float" in insurance?

A: When you pay for insurance, the company doesn't pay claims immediately. It holds your premium and invests it until a claim comes due — sometimes years later. That pool of held money is called "float."

Q: Why does Buffett love it so much?

A: Because if you underwrite well, your float can be cost-free or even *negative cost* — meaning you get paid to hold and invest other people's money. Berkshire has used this float to buy stakes in Coca-Cola, Apple, and dozens of other companies.

Q: Isn't that just... using other people's money?

A: Basically, yes. Banks do something similar with deposits. The difference is insurance float doesn't have to be paid back on demand — policyholders only get paid when they file a claim, which gives Buffett a longer, cheaper runway to invest.

Q: How much float are we talking about?

A: Berkshire's insurance float has been in the tens of billions of dollars for years, generated mainly through GEICO and Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance.

Q: Can a regular person "use" this idea?

A: Not literally (you can't run an insurance company from your bedroom), but the underlying lesson applies: money you can access cheaply and hold for a long time, invested wisely, compounds a lot faster than money you have to pay back quickly. That's the core takeaway people usually apply to things like low-interest debt or long-term investing.

Q: Is this a loophole or is it well known?

A: It's completely public — Buffett explains it every year in Berkshire's shareholder letters. It's not a secret so much as something most people never think about because it doesn't apply to individuals directly.

Is Brk is buying alphabet also the financing of a client?
Datacenters need power , insurance and other stuff get from Brk .
Is that it?
If it is not then made no sense to buy a 29 P/E.

Among the stocks that were net sold by Schwab clients in June were Berkshire Hathaway, UnitedHealth Group, Snowflake, IREN and Cisco Systems.

So Buffett had taken his initial AMEX investment in late 63; I really think the success of this investment was the reason for the statement written below:

"Interestingly enough, although I consider myself to be primarily in the quantitative school (and as I write this no one has come back from recess - I may be the only one left in the class), the really sensational ideas I have had over the years have been heavily weighted toward the qualitative side where I have had a "high-probability insight". This is what causes the cash register to really sing. However, it is an infrequent occurrence, as insights usually are, and, of course, no insight is required on the quantitative side - the figures should hit you over the head with a baseball bat. So the really big money tends to be made by investors who are right on qualitative decisions but, at least in my opinion, the more sure money tends to be made on the obvious quantitative decisions."

Berkshire Stock Gets a Lift as Mag 7 Trading Cools - Barron’s
By Andrew Bary

https://www.barrons.com/articles/berkshire-hathaway-stock-warren-buffett-magnificent-seven-ec26be5f

July 02, 2026 4:10 pm EDT

Key Points

* Berkshire’s Class A shares are up almost 8% in the past month to $758,400.

* Barron’s estimates Berkshire’s book value gained about 3% in the June quarter relative to the March period.

* Berkshire’s largest equity holding, Apple, rose 14% in the second quarter.

Berkshire Hathaway stock has been on the upswing over the past month and one reason could be that the company’s book value should show a nice increase in the June quarter.

Another factor for the strength could be a rotation into more defensive stocks from the Magnificent Seven and many momentum stocks.

Berkshire is the ultimate defensive play given its diverse earnings stream of more than $40 billion annually and a fortress balance sheet with nearly $400 billion in cash and equivalents.

Berkshire’s Class A shares are up almost 8% in the past month to $758,400, including a 1% gain Thursday. The class B stock also has gained almost 8% in the past month to $505.59 and has risen 1.1% Thursday.

Both classes of Berkshire stock are now up less than 1% so far this year, leaving them about 10 percentage points behind the S&P 500.

Barron’s estimates that Berkshire’s shareholder equity, or book value, gained about 3% in the June quarter relative to the March period, to around $522,000 per Class A share.

That would leave the stock now trading at about 1.45 times book value—in line with the average of recent years but below a peak of about 1.8 times in May 2025 when the stock peaked with the A shares trading over $800,000. The stock hit its high just before the 2025 annual meeting, when Warren Buffett surprised shareholders by saying he would step down as CEO at year-end 2025. He remains as chairman.

The stock’s underperformance relative to the index is nearly 40 percentage points since the 2025 annual meeting. This could reflect a disappearance of any “Buffett premium,” the high valuation a year ago, and a wait-and-see approach regarding Greg Abel, Buffett’s successor as CEO.

The expected growth in Berkshire’s book value in the second quarter reflects the company’s operating earnings in the period and growth in the value of the company’s equity portfolio of more than $300 billion. Apple , Berkshire’s largest holding at around $65 billion, rose 14% in the quarter, and other top five investments Coca-Cola, American Express and Bank of America also were higher.

One of the key figures in the second-quarter earnings report expected around Aug. 1 will be the company’s stock buyback activity in the period. Berkshire’s repurchases of just $235 million of stock in the first quarter disappointed some Berkshire holders given that the company announced the restart of the program in early March after nearly two years of being out of the market.

Berkshire didn’t need to publicly reveal the buyback restart and CEO Greg Abel highlighted the action in a CNBC interview the same day. That raised hopes among Berkshire investors that the company would become more aggressive with buybacks with the A stock trading in the low $700,000 area. But it turned out the company bought stock on just one day in early March and then stopped for the rest of the quarter and into the middle of April.

Berkshire bought back over $25 billion of stock in 2021 and probably is capable of repurchasing about $50 billion annually, or about 5% of its market value of over $1 trillion.

Source: https://www.wsj.com/finance/banking/jamie-dimon-jpmorgan-investing-defense-091cfc4c?mod=Searchresults&pos=1&page=1

Even though Todd Combs is no longer at BH, I thought some of us might be interested in what he's been up to since his departure. I was going to post screenshots but I can't figure out how to post images on this sub.

Edit: $10B fund, not $10.1B

From the article:

"The bank hired Berkshire Hathaway's star investment manager, Todd Combs, to run the $10 billion fund. JPMorgan decided to not put its own money into L3Harris, but it has so far invested in a gold mine in Idaho and a San Diego-based manufacturer of fighter drones powered by artificial intelligence called Shield AI. Dimon has said he wants to eventually allocate $20 billion or more to the fund."

And later on...

"From the $10 billion national-security fund of the bank's own capital, JPMorgan said it has invested $2 billion into companies. It put $75 million into the stock of Perpetua Resources, a mining company that is extracting gold and antimony from an abandoned quarry in Idaho. Antimony is a critical finishing material for bullets and other types of weaponry. Perpetua has also received a $3 billion loan from the U.S. Export-Import Bank, controlled by the Department of Commerce. The fund also invested undisclosed amounts into Databricks, a data storage company that has also been a longtime client of JPMorgan's investment bank to raise stock and borrow debt."

Buffett holds back $4.6B Gates foundation donation, strong June rally for Berkshire, links from around web and don’t bet against America from an annual meeting flashback.

https://link.cnbc.com/public/46423350

https://stockcircle.com/portfolio/warren-buffett

Marubeni:

https://disclosure2dl.edinet-fsa.go.jp/searchdocument/pdf/S100YO0N.pdf?sv=2020-08-04&st=2026-07-01T09%3A52%3A37Z&se=2031-07-01T15%3A00%3A00Z&sr=b&sp=rl&sig=m66kSbwZhaJPCeD8PiyBo9HrgoDtJqMFpuIammlWznk%3D

Mitsui:

https://disclosure2dl.edinet-fsa.go.jp/searchdocument/pdf/S100YO1O.pdf?sv=2020-08-04&st=2026-07-01T09%3A52%3A28Z&se=2031-07-01T15%3A00%3A00Z&sr=b&sp=rl&sig=KRHDYQoqKugzN2cL9DclIW8sXlB0V1cdipSk4jVXSFg%3D

Berkshire Hathaway's ownership of Marubeni crossed the reporting threshold on June 25th, Mitsui on June 24th. After the disclosures last May for increases in ownership of Sumitomo and Mitsubishi, I expect that we'll see a future Berkshire Hathaway filing for Itochu Corporation.

Nope, they won’t !! They are around to trash this stock but they won’t short it either.

It’s a sheer waste of time.

Would like to understand what folks (not trolls) think here about that?

Last year stocks went to children’s foundations on June 27, 2025.

Thanks for your time.

Edited: it’s in news a few days later

https://stocks.apple.com/ASarsyWfCQU-6sM3xozPmpQ

———

(TLDR: why rational people are often easily fooled)

Could You Be Fooled by a Ponzi Scheme? You’d Better Believe It - wsj

https://www.wsj.com/finance/investing/could-you-be-fooled-by-a-ponzi-scheme-youd-better-believe-it-e159c877?st=iY1a15&reflink=article_copyURL_share

By Jason Zweig
June 30, 2026 at 9:55 am ET

Fellow investors,

If it’s too good to be true, why do people believe it it’s true?

“Because they’re either greedy or stupid.” That’s the most frequent take I hear about anybody who falls for an investment scam—including the victims of Paul Regan, the subject of my most recent article. He is a convicted Ponzi schemer who recorded himself ripping investors off so he could teach his salespeople how to do it, too.

That take couldn’t be more wrong. These victims aren’t greedy or stupid; they’re vulnerable. I spoke with close to two dozen of Regan’s investors. Almost none were young, employed and in robust health. Most were disabled or chronically ill; unemployed or retired; widowed; or living alone. When life hasn’t gone your way for years, an investment that’s too good to be true feels like the answer to your prayers. You don’t evaluate it as savings; you evaluate it as salvation.

This exchange of comments on the Regan story nails it:

Lyndon Bradish
6 hours ago
What I find amazing is the amounts that ‘investors’ are willing to forward to an unknown person promising great returns.
Why do they have such great sums of money to invest and no sense to protect their hard won funds?
I guess greed and desperate needs with gullibility are the drivers?
Reply · Share
Alberta S
6 hours ago
Hopefully you will never find yourself old, alone, sitting by the telephone and waiting for it to ring.
Reply · 1 · Share
Lyndon Bradish
6 hours ago
Valid point that I missed. Thanks.
Reply · Share

What’s more, Regan’s methods closely parallel the principles outlined in the classic book “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion,” by behavioral scientist Robert Cialdini.
At my request, Cialdini listened to several of the recordings Regan made.

“We like those who give to us, who provide hope, who offer ways out of distress,” Cialdini said after hearing a recording of Regan telling one woman that he could “come through for you and be your deliverance.”

“He’s presenting himself as her benefactor, not just her business partner,” explained Cialdini. “In effect, as the recipient of his gratitude, it’s her turn to give back and say yes to his request.” In another form of reciprocity, Regan often adjusted his offerings while he was talking to clients, promising them higher rates or longer terms if they invested more or committed sooner.

Speaking in his soft, deep voice, Regan variously—and falsely—claimed that he had been a top trader at Goldman Sachs, had run Citigroup’s alternative-investments division, was a chartered financial analyst and had earned a degree in “advanced mathematics.”

“Especially when people are uncertain,” Cialdini told me, “they go for authority, gravitating to the person with confidence and credentials.”

Regan also swayed investors with what Cialdini calls “social proof,” namedropping influential-sounding people or institutions. The California Teachers Federal Credit Union was a major investor, Regan claimed. “They came in with 46 million [dollars] and they applied tremendous due diligence,” he said on one call.

There is no credit union by that name.

Regan took elemental signals of trustworthiness that seldom steer people wrong and used them to create a powerful impression that he was honest and caring. “These principles that [the investors are] responding to are deeply embedded in us,” said Cialdini, “and normally give us good outcomes.”

To have confidence in someone literally means to place your faith in them (from the Latin fidere, to trust or believe). A con artist is someone whose craft is to win your trust. That’s most likely to happen not because you’re stupid or greedy, but because you’re vulnerable—and because the con artist knows exactly how to fabricate trustworthiness.

The best advice I can give?

First, don’t assume you’re too sophisticated to be suckered. In the 1990s, John Bennett and his New Era Philanthropy, a Ponzi scheme, bilked an ex-U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, a former co-chairman of Goldman Sachs and other financial titans out of hundreds of millions of dollars. Later, Bernie Madoff scammed billions from many of Wall Street’s leading institutions.

Second, as Ronald Reagan put it, “Trust but verify.” No matter how likable or trustworthy someone seems, check their credentials independently. Don’t let your gut feelings prevent you from doing a background check—and a check into the financial logic of the investment.

Berkshire Manager Weschler May Be Having A Good Year Due to DaVita, Sirius Holdings - wsj
By Andrew Bary

June 30, 2026 4:44 pm EDT

https://www.barrons.com/articles/berkshire-weschler-stock-davita-sirius-e9ee54aa

Key Points

- Berkshire Hathaway investment manager Ted Weschler appears to be having a strong 2026 due to big gains in DaVita and Sirius XM.
- Shares of DaVita are up over 90% this year, while Sirius XM has risen almost 50%.
- Weschler is responsible for running about 6% of Berkshire Hathaway’s equity portfolio under the oversight of CEO Greg Abel.

Berkshire investment manager Ted Weschler appears to be having a strong 2026 after some tougher years because of big gains in two stocks— DaVita and Sirius XM Holdings.

Weschler is responsible for running about 6% of Berkshire’s equity portfolio of more than $300 billion under the oversight of CEO Greg Abel, who oversees the rest.

Berkshire doesn’t disclose the Weschler investments, but the company’s filings show that he personally owns both DaVita and Sirius XM—a strong indication that the Berkshire investments in those companies are directed by him.

Berkshire also doesn’t reveal Weschler’s investment performance, or the performance of the entire portfolio.

Shares of kidney dialysis provider DaVita are up over 90% this year to $222, while the stock of satellite radio operator Sirius XM have risen almost 50% to $29. That followed a rough five-year period when DaVita was about flat while Sirius XM declined 65%.

Berkshire has large stakes in both companies. It owns about 29 million shares of DaVita worth more than $6 billion, a 45% stake. It also owns roughly 125 million shares of Sirius XM, a 37% interest, now valued at around $3.6 billion. These holdings are as of March 31.

The DaVita holding is likely Weschler’s largest Berkshire investment and Sirius XM is probably among his top five investments.

Weschler, who is about 65 years old, is believed to have been close to former Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei. Berkshire’s large Sirius XM holding came about partly due to a combination of a Liberty-controlled company that held Sirius XM stock with Sirius XM in 2024. Berkshire had held a sizable stake in the Liberty entity.

Weschler, who joined Berkshire in 2012, has been associated with DaVita for more than a decade and he personally owns 2.2 million shares. He also holds almos t 790,000 shares of Sirius XM. These investments are as of late 2024, the most recent filing date that Barron’s is aware of.

Until the end of 2025, Weschler ran about 5% of the Berkshire equity portfolio, and investment manager Todd Combs also ran 5% with chairman Warren Buffett handling the rest. Weschler got additional authority —going to 6% from 5% — around year-end, according to Abel’s shareholder letter.

Combs left Berkshire for an investment position at JPMorgan Chase in December 2025 and Berkshire appeared to have sold most of the Combs holdings in late 2025 and the first quarter of 2026. Buffett stepped aside as CEO at year-end and was succeeded by Abel.

With the Combs stocks largely sold, it’s easier to identify the Weschler investments at Berkshire since they likely are some of the smaller equity holdings now at the company. The large holdings like Apple, Coca-Cola and American Express were accumulated by Buffett.

Probable Weschler investments also include a nearly $3 billion holding in Kroger and a $3.5 billion stake in Delta Air Lines. Berkshire accumulated the Delta stake in the first quarter and the stock is up about 50% since then, making it a quick winner.

With likely holdings in DaVita, Sirius XM and Delta, Weschler appears to be having an excellent first half of 2026.

Fin

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