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Woodstock of Capitalism - Thousands of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) sh= areholders and other investors flocked to Omaha, Nebraska, this weekend to = hear Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger speak at an event known as the "Wood= stock of Capitalism." The pandemic forced the conglomerate, which owns and = invests in a wide range of businesses from insurance to industrials, to shi= ft to an online format over the last two years, so the return to an in-pers= on gathering garnered some extra attention. "It really feels good to be bac= k," Buffett announced at the beginning of the show, saying it "was a lot be= tter seeing actual shareholders and partners." Back in action: Berkshire wa= s a huge net buyer of stocks in the first quarter, loading up on $51.1B wor= th of equities. Those included big holdings in Occidental Petroleum (OXY) a= nd Chevron (CVX), acquiring an 11.4% stake in HP (HPQ) and arbitrage play A= ctivision (ATVI) (as Microsoft (MSFT) acquires the videogame developer). Al= l of the buying shrunk Berkshire's cash hoard to $106B, but echoed Buffett'= s classic dip-buying he also conducted during the financial crisis. "One th= ing that won't change is we will always have a lot of cash on hand," added = Buffett, who is known to be nimble when mispriced opportunities arise. Also= sitting on the dais were Greg Abel, Buffett's successor and currently head= of Berkshire's non-insurance businesses, and Ajit Jain, the head of the co= mpany's insurance operations. Assuring some investors, Buffett detailed tha= t when the time comes for Abel to take over, the board will "put some more = restrictions" on him, compared to the degree of carte blanche historically = granted to Buffett. A proposal that would have stripped Buffett of his dual= chair and CEO was also voted down at the meeting, along with other measure= s like one that would have required Berkshire to publish a yearly assessmen= t of how it's handling issues related to climate change. Report card: Opera= ting earnings at Berkshire Hathaway rose slightly from a year ago to $7B as= manufacturing and retail businesses thrived, though net earnings plunged 5= 3% Y/Y to $5.5B as insurance underwriting declined heavily. "The amount of = investment gains (losses) in any given quarter is usually meaningless and d= elivers figures for net earnings per share that can be extremely misleading= to investors who have little or no knowledge of accounting rules," Berkshi= re noted, pointing to its recent stock track record: While the S&P 500 = has dropped more than 13% YTD, Berkshire's stock is up more than 7%. Will i= t send a signal to some investors that are running for the exits, or even t= rigger a shakeout that could help some value investors? (95 comments)
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Wo= odstock of Capitalism
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Thousands of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B<= /a>) shareholders and other investors flocked to Omaha, Nebraska, this week= end to hear Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger speak at an event known as th= e "Woodstock of Capitalism." The pandemic forced the conglomerate, which ow= ns and invests in a wide range of businesses from insurance to industrials,= to shift to an online format over the last two years, so the return to an = in-person gathering garnered some extra attention. "It really feels good to= be back," Buffett announced at the beginning of the show, saying it "was a= lot better seeing actual shareholders and partners."

Back in action: Berkshir= e was a huge net buyer of stocks in the first quarter, loading up on $51.1B= worth of equities. Those included big holdings in Occidental Petroleum (OXY) and Chevron (CVX), acquiring an 11.4% stake in HP (HPQ) and arbitrage play Activision (ATVI= ) (as Microsoft (MSFT) a= cquires the videogame developer). All of the buying shrunk Berkshire's cash= hoard to $106B, but echoed Buffett's classic dip-buying he also conducted = during the financial crisis. "One thing that won't change is we will always= have a lot of cash on hand," added Buffett, who is known to be nimble when= mispriced opportunities arise.

Also sitting on the dais were G= reg Abel, Buffett's successor and currently head of Berkshire's non-insuran= ce businesses, and Ajit Jain, the head of the company's insurance operation= s. Assuring some investors, Buffett detailed that when the time comes for A= bel to take over, the board will "put some more restrictions" on him, compa= red to the degree of carte blanche historically granted to Buffett. A propo= sal that would have stripped Buffett of his dual chair and CEO was also vot= ed down at the meeting, along with other measures like one that would have = required Berkshire to publish a yearly assessment of how it's handling issu= es related to climate change.

Report card: Operating earnings at Berkshire Hathaway = rose slightly from a year ago to $7B as manufacturing and retail businesses= thrived, though net earnings plunged 53% Y/Y to $5.5B as insurance underwr= iting declined heavily. "The amount of investment gains (losses) in any giv= en quarter is usually meaningless and delivers figures for net earnings per= share that can be extremely misleading to investors who have little or no = knowledge of accounting rules," Berkshire noted, pointing to its recent sto= ck track record: While the S&P 500 has = dropped more than 13% YTD, Berkshire's stock is up more than 7%. Will it send a signal to some investors= that are running for the exits, or even trigger a shakeout that could help= some value investors? (95 comments)
     
Financials
No to crypto

Just a month after Peter Thiel called Warren Buffett the "enemy No. 1" of Bitcoin (BTC-USD), describing him as a "sociopathi= c grandpa from Omaha," Buffett doubled down on his outlook of the popular c= rypto at Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK.A, BRK.B) annual shareholder meeting. "Nobody wants their windpipe stepped on and = I don't blame them. I don't like people to step on my windpipe, but I will = say this," declared Buffett, who has previously referred to Bitcoin as "pro= bably rat poison squared."

Quote: "If you said... for a= 1% interest in all the farmland in the United States, pay our group $25B, = I'll write you a check this afternoon. For $25B, I now own 1% of the farmla= nd. If you tell me you own 1% of all the apartment houses in the United Sta= tes and you want another $25B, I'll write you a check, it's very simple. No= w if you told me you own all of the Bitcoin (BTC-USD) in the world and you offered it to me for $25 I wou= ldn't take it because what would I do with it? I'd have to sell it back to = you one way or another. It isn't going to do anything. The apartments are g= oing to produce rental and the farms are going to produce food. That explai= ns the difference between productive assets and something that depends on t= he next guy paying you more than the last guy got."

"Assets, to = have value, have to deliver something to somebody. And there's only one cur= rency that's accepted. You can come up with all kinds of things - we can pu= t up Berkshire coins... but in the end, this is money," he announced, holdi= ng up a dollar bill. "Anyone that thinks the United States government is go= ing to change the way they let Berkshire money replace theirs is out of the= ir minds. Whether it goes up or down in the next year, or five or 10 years,= I don't know. But the one thing I'm pretty sure of is that it doesn't mult= iply, it doesn't produce anything. It's got a magic to it and people have a= ttached magic to lots of things."

Munger chimes in: "In my life, I try and avoid things that are stupid, and evil, and mak= e me look bad in comparison to somebody else - and Bitcoin (BTC-USD) does all three. In the first place, = it's stupid because it's very likely to go to zero. In the second place, it= 's evil because it undermines the Federal Reserve system that we desperatel= y need to maintain its integrity and government control... and third, it ma= kes us look foolish compared to the Communist leader in China. He was smart= enough to ban bitcoin in China, and with all of our presumed advantages in= civilization, we are a lot dumber than the Communist leader in China." (53 comments)

     
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Outlook
Politics and business

Geoff Morrell appears to be taking the fall at Disne= y (NYSE:DIS) as the chi= ef corporate affairs officer, who helped architect Disney's public response= to Florida's so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill, decided to resign from the company. Morre= ll had only been three months into the new job before announcing his depart= ure following prior stints as a spokesperson at BP (BP) and the Pentagon. Kristina Schake, who Disney hired earlie= r this month, will lead the company's communications efforts going forward,= while Disney General Counsel Horacio Gutierrez will pick up government rel= ations and public policy. They will both report directly to CEO Bob Chapek,= who has had to navigate the coronavirus pandemic - and a big hole left by = longtime CEO Bob Iger - after taking the top spot in February 2020.
Backdrop: According to people who worked with him, Morrell set= out to be more transparent than his iron-fisted predecessor, Zenia Mucha, = who closely guarded Disney's public image. With regards to "Don't Say Gay,"= Morrell guided Disney and Chapek to publicly explain why it hadn't taken a= stand regarding the legislation that limits some classroom instruction on = sexual orientation and gender identity. "Corporate statements do very littl= e to change outcomes or minds," Chapek wrote, but the declaration opened up= a can of worms that sparked company-wide protests and walkouts for employe= es that felt otherwise.

Instead of remaining quiet on the matter= with no public position (a similar stance it takes with regards to China's= reported human rights abuses), Disney went on to double down on support fo= r the "Don't Say Gay" legislation. "This bill should never have passed and = should never have been signed into law," the company declared. "Our goal as= a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down= in the courts, and we remain committed to supporting the national and stat= e organizations working to achieve that." What followed was an uproar that = saw the Florida legislature revoke Disney's special tax distric= t status and a fight over who is liable to pay the $1B bond linked to disso= lving the Reedy Creek Improvement District.

Go deeper: There is much debate in this case if public officials should target= private companies, as well as if private corporations should comment on th= e public sphere. The bottom line is that top business leaders across Corpor= ate America are now on alert for navigating charged topics. "The No. 1 conc= ern CEOs have is, 'When should I speak out on public issues?'" said Bill Ge= orge, former CEO of Medtronic and current professor at Harvard Business Sch= ool. "As one CEO said to me, 'I want to speak out on social issues, but I d= on't want to get involved in politics.' Which I said under my breath, 'That= 's not possible.'" (32 comments)

Many tech firms and other companies embraced remote = work during the pandemic, only to wean off the model in favor of a hybrid a= pproach or a return to the office once the initial waves of COVID-19 subsid= ed. Not Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB). The= home rental provider that changed the way people travel just announced a p= olicy that will allow its employees to live and work from anywhere, calling= it the "predominant way companies will work in 10 years from now." The pla= n:

1. You can work from home or the office - whatever works best= for you.

2. You can move anywhere in the country, like from San= Francisco to Nashville, and your compensation won't change.

3. = You have the flexibility to live and work in 170 countries for up to 90 day= s a year in each location.

4. We'll meet up regularly for team g= atherings. Most employees will connect in person every quarter for about a = week at a time (some more frequently).

5. To pull this off, we'l= l operate off of a multi-year roadmap with two major product releases a yea= r, which will keep us working in a highly coordinated way.

Q= uote: "We had the most productive two-year period in our company's his= tory - all while working remotely," explained CEO Brian Chesky. "Two decade= s ago, Silicon Valley startups popularized open floor plans and on-site per= ks. Today's startups have embraced flexibility and remote work." Companies = will also be at a "significant disadvantage if they limit their talent pool= to a commuting radius around their offices. The best people live everywher= e."

Human connection? "The most meaningful conn= ections happen in person. Zoom is great for maintaining relationships, but = it's not the best way to deepen them. And some creative work is best done i= n the same room. The right solution should combine the efficiency of Zoom w= ith the meaningful human connection that happens when people come together.= Our design attempts to combine the best of both worlds."

     
In Asia, Japan = -0.1%. Hong Kong closed. China closed. India -0.2%.
In Europe, at midday, Lond= on closed. Paris -1.3%= . Frankfurt -0.7%.
Futures at 6:20, Dow +0.5%. S&P +0= .4%. Nasdaq +0.5%. Crude -2.6% to 1= 01.94. Gold -1.6% to $= 1881. Bitcoin +1.9% = to $38,751.
Ten-year Treasury Yield +2 bps to 2.91%
Today's Economic Calendar
9:45 = PMI Manuf= acturing Index
10:00 ISM Manufacturing Index
10:00 Construction Spending

Companies reporting earnings today =C2= =BB
What else is happening...
U.S. housing affordability nears record low as mortgage rates keep climbing.

= Novavax (NVAX) in notable setup = ahead of key FDA meeting on COVID shot.
=
Trial of Pfizer's (PFE) COVID= pill did not meet infection prevention goa= l.

Bitcoin usage in El Salvador underwhelming, while U.S. d= ollar dominates.
=
Twitter (TWTR) spread indi= cates uncertainty on Musk closing $44B deal.

NIO (NIO) deliveries dow= n almost 50% amid supply chain issues.

= Supply fears top China lockdowns: Oil scores fifth straight monthly gain.

Inflation worries a= re hitting every income bracket - watch = these stocks.
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Seeking Alpha's Wall Street Breakfast podcast brings you all the news you n= eed to know for your market day. Released by 8:00 AM ET each morning, it is= a quick listen that you can put on as you get ready to start your working = day.
 
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