My Work

 Berkshire Hathaway Speech

Today, I will be talking about Berkshire Hathaway. I intend to briefly go over its history, insurance operations, subsidiaries outside of insurance and its equity portfolio. So now we go onto the history of Berkshire. Berkshire Hathaway was originally a New Bedford, Massachusetts based textile company. It resulted from a combination of Hathaway Manufacturing Company, founded by Horatio Hathaway in 1888, and Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates, Inc. Even before the merger the pieces of the company suffered from lower-cost competition in the south. With time it also was pressed on by foreign competitors as well. There were some boom times during the world wars, but the overall trend was lower. Little of the original company remains except its name and some of the capital that wasn’t dissipated by the rigors of business. The company as it is now is in large part the product of one man’s efforts, Warren Buffett. It seems the name was kept in part as a reminder not to buy run-down textile mills no matter how apparently cheap. The modern Berkshire is nothing like the one described previously. It is a conglomerate that leans heavily toward insurance. The company trades for around 214 billion dollars. It’s a far cry from the company with sales 112 million in 1955. As mentioned previously the foundation of Berkshire is insurance. It can be thought of as such because it often provides the fuel to buy the other pieces of the company. Since the company is given full access to customers premiums’ before it has to pay out as a result of claims the money can be invested. Insurance companies don’t really make all that much as a direct charge to customers. It is the time lag between receiving money and paying it out that allows for investment and hopefully a good profit. The insurance division is made up of several subsidiaries including General Re, Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance and most famously GEICO. The two reinsurance companies act to reduce the exposure of other insurance companies to major risks. For example they underwrote the risks for hurricanes and it was Berkshire that ultimately bore much of the cost of the 2005 hurricanes. The next year the company made a nice profit as there was a light hurricane season, and many of the other insurers backed out from inability to provide after their losses from the previous year. The size of the money taken in but not paid out is huge standing at above 50 billion dollars. The company also has significant operations beyond insurance. It owns See’s Candies, a famous maker of chocolate on the west coast and Nebraska Furniture Mart, which provides low cost furniture to people in all of that state and beyond. The company also owns jewelry retailers, metal working operations and International Dairy Queen among others. One of the biggest noninsurance pieces is MidAmerican Energy Holdings of which Berkshire owns 86.6%. It is a utility that pumps about 8% of the natural gas used in the US, and it also provides electricity to millions. Berkshire’s share of the profit was 916 million dollars in 2006.   It is important to understand that these companies aren’t divisions of Berkshire in the traditional sense. Managements operate independently of each other and of directives from the CEO for the most part. Only capital allocation is the premise of Mr. Buffett. Moving on to Berkshire’s equity portfolio, one finds this is where a lot of capital allocation is done (Equity portfolio refers to stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange as well as other exchanges). These companies aren’t controlled by Berkshire, but it could exert considerable influence other them because of the size of its stake in many. The portfolio is heavily concentrated with over a billion dollars invested in many companies as of 2006. Berkshire is so large that intends to be able to invest only in the largest companies, since good performance in smaller ones would make little difference on Berkshire’s bottom line. Many of the names are familiar such as Procter & Gamble, The Coca-Cola Company, Wal-Mart, Wells Fargo and American Express. Some are less so like Posco, a major South Korean steel concern.  This is where much of the money provided by insurance ends up.  The stake in The Coca-Cola Company represents 8.6% of its equity. This illustrates the size and commitment of some of these investments.  A good deal of these investments are truly long term for example The Washington Post Company has been held for so long that dividend payments from it now exceed the cost of the original company. Berkshire Hathaway is an interesting company with a long history that was significantly shifted towards a new direction by the arrival of Warren Buffett. It has diverse branches consisting of primarily insurance operations with noninsurance operations and a equity portfolio to back these up. It continues to change and evolve as new pieces are added and its destiny stretches towards the future.       

  

 

 The Quest

I awoke to find myself in a world gripped in full by Winter’s bony fingers. My quest was a noble and arduous one.  I needed to seek out a sage knowledgeable in the ways of real estate. Even though I feared the difficulty of the task at hand I was steadfast in my pursuit for I belonged to that most illustrious of orders, whose patron saint was Francis de Sales. I was no squire, but a knight. My branch of the order had fallen on hard times so I had returned to my homeland where resources were more plentiful in hopes of reaching the one I longed for. Though I questioned many I failed to find the one who could enlighten me so I returned to my castle to be greeted by Morpheus, god of sleep.  And so one day’s defeat had brought me to another chilled time.

 I traveled across the Glass City. Its skin had been made as white as those that hailed from the land of the rising sun. Since the book with the list of names and numbers had failed me I tried a new pathway to knowledge of the land. I entered the halls of the men that weighed money. Here they sent it; there they sent it always in an attempt to grow the ranks of their green legion. These too had fallen on hard times such as I had. They had sent out their legion without a proper commander. The great Alexander was not among them. The lion hearted was not in attendance. Their greed made them reckless. The two mighty destroyers of capital, impatience and carelessness had shattered them upon the altar of business like so many sacrifices before.  They had fallen upon each other. They were cannibals. The strong ate the weak, but the legion as a whole was reduced.  They foolishly thought that having many different formations was a substitute for skill. I feared they would learn nothing, and the old enemy would take on a new shape and continue its gleeful rampage.  Inflation was a serpentine headed beast that even the bravest of knights feared. It galled me, but I asked the ones with coins for eyes for help. Did they know of a sage? I went to two houses of Charter One and another of National City.      

They did not know my sage. However, they suggested that I should travel among the people who shielded and watched claims for buildings in exchange for a modest division of the green legion. I passed by the Sears and the Roebuck. I entered the homes of the protectors. One was unable to help me, but another produced a chest with the most precious jewel of my time, information. I was given a name and a number. Daniel Buckowski had become my sage. I kneeled at his feet to learn of real estate. I asked him how to price old castles and new castles. He said there was more than a single way to accomplish this. One method did not suit all castles just as one princess did not suit all princes.  New castles had less that they could be compared to. Therefore, the cost of the construction was used. Older castles could be compared to others that had been recently sold. Castles run be an industrious lord could be valued based on the worth arising from their output. Most of the buildings didn’t qualify for this method, because they only drained the coffers of the lords and ladies. I asked the sage Buckowski how the acquisition of these castles was brought about. He replied that one must go to the ones with coins for eyes for funds. It was the National Cities of the world whose place was to provide capital for the buying or construction of castles. However, the ones with coins for eyes had seen the ranks of their green legion wither and were slow to commit the legion. They wanted the odds more heavily stacked in their favor than in the past. It was no longer enough to have an exotic formation. The prospective lord or lady’s coffers must be deep to attract the green legion for like calls to like.  The sage had taught me much. I bowed to him and started the long walk home.

                                                      A New Stage

This is my prayer, my walking prayer. Eyes cast down to better borrow another sense. Still humble but no kneeling. To walk for fifteen minutes is my inclination with food and rest as inspiration. Sound of owl as Sun is banished in thrall to Earth’s rotation. Eyes are recast. Warm air to uplift bird and me as winter is put under guard and key. Own tread is heard then scrape and slight misstep. 3 parts; blue, concrete, and infinity. A blissful kiss and serenity even death has been known to traffic in cordiality.  

            This is my prayer, my walking prayer. Ugly engine hurts my ears. Box lady greets me with a sneer and disturbs my tranquil march. Concentration broke then refocus and prayer resumes. What does one gain from sitting under a freezing river meditating but the ability to sit under a freezing river meditating? Hand stab and weight of books remind me I am not everything but only one. The pain is liberation. I’m on the edge again. This is my prayer, my walking prayer.

Guarded Vitality

Khonsu:[takes center stage and shouts] We travel back thousands of years to a time when Egypt was young. Its first king and god, Osiris and his wife Isis rule with gentle hands. Set, his brother, plans to overthrow him and take the kingdom for his own.

Set:[enters carrying wine bottles tied to rope] The others have almost arrived. Soon it will be time. Osiris:[embracing Set] Hello brother, I am glad you have made the time to visit us. The desert is fine, but the city has its own beauty.

Set: [flashes a huge grin at Osiris but it fades the instant they hug] It is good to see you as well. It has been awhile. Will Isis be joining us?

Osiris: She will and so will the booze I see.

Set: I assure you it’s the best in Egypt. By the way I’ve prepared a game for us, but it’s for later.

Osiris: What sort of game?

Set: The best sort. One of strength. One of muscle. We take turns standing in a sarcophagus and see who is strong enough to break out.

Osiris: [Walks quickly away from Set and then back to him again] You know I love a challenge, but this hardly seems like a challenge to me. If I were to go first you won’t even get a chance. Will it be just for fun?

Set: Of course it will. Besides what could I offer but sand as a prize. I have plenty of that. You should take a trip sometime. Outside of the city gates.

Osiris: You offer a challenge that isn’t really one at all, and there is no prize. I don’t think I should bother. As for a trip where would I go?

 Set: Where isn’t the point. Drift some. The Nile is good for drifting.

Osiris: Would it be a bonding thing with you along for the ride?

Set: No, just a vacation with Isis. It would be good training for Anubis. He’s next in line right?

Osiris: He’s still too inexperienced. He’d fuck everything up.

Set:[waving his arm in a great sweep] He’d make all this into nothing over a week or two? Come on!

Osiris: Don’t underestimate inexperience. He does have potential, but potential isn’t the same thing as actually being good.

Set: Ah, here comes the raw clay now and the queen as well.

Osiris: Dirt and water is always raw. There isn’t any other type that I know of.

Anubis: Hi uncle.

Set:[sits down on chair and starts to tie and untie knots in the rope he has brought.] Good to see you boy. How has the world been treating you?

Anubis: Ok I guess. The people are always bitching. They think when your part of the big time you can do anything but they don’t really realize the world just sends in bigger monkeys pitching bigger piles of shit.

Set: You’re such a victim of the system. Thrones and gold and the ladies drooling and fancy boats aren’t your thing.

Anubis: They’re nice but they aren’t the only part of the package. They’re more like snazzy wrapping around a present and then you end up with coal. A red Jell-O’s joke and Rudolf to go with.

Isis: [descends into lower level of place and holds the owl to her ear] What’s that Thoth? Coke made the red Santa and Santa is from Christianity and Christianity isn’t around yet? Nonsense, Anubis was just talking about coal.

Anubis: So the gang’s all here. Party time, booze time with an added dash of fun time thrown in.

Set:[quickens the pace of the knot tying and smiles with a wolfish grin] Are you well sister?

Isis:[smiles weakly as she moves to stand next to Osiris] I am.

Set: Good to hear. Have a drink. Have a drink as well brother and nephew.

Osiris:[laughs and takes a deep drink] This is good stuff, Set.

Set:[flashes another wolfish grin and takes only a sip to drink] I know.

Anubis: It’s great to have the family back together.

Set: Isn’t it just?

Osiris: A hundred bottles of beer are on the wall. Take a few down and you’re buzzed. If I take a lot down, which I have, I’m drunk. If you take half down you’re dead.

Set: That’s what stomach pumps are for. Onward and upward brother!

Isis:[holding Thoth close and listening] They haven’t been invented yet. Honey, you might want to slow down. Tomorrow’s another day and you can have another glass then.

Osiris: It would be rude to turn away Fun when she knocks.

Isis: Don’t turn her away: just let her out the backdoor after you’ve sat with her.

Set: Don’t be such a downer, Isis. He can sleep it off all through the rest of tomorrow.

Isis: I’m just trying to help.

Set: Well, just cool it. Relax, we’re running out anyway.

Anubis: I’m taking a bio-break. I’ll be back in a second.

Set:[all casualness is gone now as he starts to bring himself up from a lazy slouch]: No rush.

Osiris: Could you go tell the chef to whip up a snack?

Isis: Maybe we should just.

Set: Just a snack and we’ll call it a night.

Isis:[glances at Set and walks out as she talks] Oh, all right.

Set: I know you said it was a waste of time but we might as well play that game now since everyone else is busy.

Osiris: Fine, fine. I don’t know why you want to lose so bad, but I suppose if that’s what you want I’ll give it to you.

 [Osiris is enclosed in a sarcophagus]

Set: What a chump. Beer is all the idiot king needs to do something even more moronic. Time to die chump. You hear that in there? You’re a chump and soon what’s yours will be mine.

Anubis:[rushing back after he hears the commotion] Get the hell away from my dad!

Set: No prob. The real leg work is for the army anyway. I just had to get everyone’s guard down.

Army of Set:[buzzes around waiving placard with the words Army of Set] We are at your command lord.

Set: I pay you to kill. What do you think I want done? Brush the squawking jackal aside and rip the king apart.

[Orisis screams then silence. Red scarves are placed around his limbs and neck.] 

 Khonsu:[takes center stage and shouts] Set has brought in the thugs. Chaos is the fate of all. Hope has been decimated. Hope has been castrated. Hope is strangled like the good god-king. Hope dies with the king.

Isis:[upon finding Osiris dead she pulls her hair] Osiris! Why did you leave me? Fuck-face killed you while I was out getting a snack. You gotta come back. I need you!

Anubis: I’ll kill him.

Isis: Of course but not yet. 

Anubis: Are we to do nothing? Is my father nothing to me? Should I leave Set on his throne on unchallenged?

Isis: I said no such thing. You need to listen more.

Anubis: I’m listening. What should we do then? Blood sings to blood.

Isis: The key is to get your father back. It will enrage Set if we undo what he has done. He’ll be sloppy as a result.

Anubis: We’ll be stronger with my father. I miss him. His soul must be buzzing around somewhere. How could he find peace after betrayal?

Isis:[holding Thoth close] The owl says to put the body of Osiris back together. You are to stitch it back together. The soul is at home in the body but not one torn and so violently murdered like this. The body must be repaired before the soul can be. 

Anubis: I understand. The soul of my father must feel kinship with the body. It won’t feel anything with a water soaked lump.

Isis: Exactly. Once we’re done we’ll battle Set, my oh so dear brother-in-law.

[Anubis and Isis start to remove scarves]

Set: I absolutely, positively can’t let you do that. I’m having a blast. There is nothing more fun than passing pointless laws and sipping champagne while the fine people of the kingdom wave those magnificent fans for me. You know the ones? Perfect. After I’m done I break the laws and laugh. Neat don’t you think?

Anubis: Your cruelty is at an end Set. Anubis slice.

[Anubis karate chops Set. Set falls to the floor.]

Anubis: You’re dead. You’re dead. Who’s the chump now, bitch?

Isis: You’re dead. You’re dead. Who’s the bitch now, chump?

[The last of scarves around Osiris are removed. He walks off stage and out of the theatre.]

Thoth: Osiris is king of the underworld now. Sweet deal-i-o.  

 

 

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