These notes were taken live as GuruFocus covered the annual shareholder meeting of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)(BRK.B) in Omaha on Saturday.
Warren Buffett: Earnings chart ��we were benign in insurance, but other businesses did well. We��e never had higher operating earnings.
Insurance earnings were helped by strong revenue and reduced liabilities in foreign currencies. Hurts in other ways. So many businesses, Coca-Cola, never know if revenue going up or down either hurts or helps.
Had a Swiss Re disagreement for over a year. Settled in the first quarter, and showed a gain of $550 million, but Swiss Re showed a gain of $500 million too. It's magnificent what accounting can do.
The high point of quarter one was a gain in the persistency rate of Geico. The strength of 2012 continued in 2013 and got stronger. Seasonal to policy gains month by month gains increased over 2012 because the closure rate improved this year and a gain in persistency. Pure gold. The closure rate was at high levels, meaning people getting a quote can save money. People love Geico but buy because they save money. Walk out and get a quote while Charlie Munger is talking.
Hot Prefered Stocks To Watch For 2015: Capital One Financial Corporation(COF)
Capital One Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for the Capital One Bank (USA), National Association (COBNA), and Capital One, National Association (CONA), which provide various financial products and services in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. It offers consumer and small business credit card lending, national closed end installment lending, and the international credit card lending services. The company also provides various non-interest bearing and interest-bearing deposits, including demand deposits, money market deposits, negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and other consumer time deposits. Its loan portfolio comprises credit card loans; consumer loans, such as auto, home, and retail banking loans; and commercial loans, including commercial and multifamily real estate, middle market, specialty lending, and small-ticket commercial real estate loans. In addition, the company provid es mortgage banking, treasury management, and depository services. It primarily serves consumers, small businesses, and commercial clients through branches, the Internet, and other distribution channels. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in McLean, Virginia.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]
Getty Images When you speak to investors on a daily basis -- as I used to -- you often get to see the seedy underbelly of their retirement planning, or lack thereof. From those who were not saving for retirement because they didn't trust the stock market to those who were struggling with paying off debt, many people I spoke with had allowed circumstances to hold them back from properly preparing for life after work. My experience is not unique: Statistics show that 36 percent of Americans have nothing saved for retirement, and the average retirement savings of a 50-year-old is just over $43,000. As a former stockbroker, I've been asked often how to succeed at retirement planning, and I usually offered the tips below. 1. Don't Let Your Starting Amount Hold You Back One of the most common beliefs with investing for retirement is that you need to start with a lot of money. Of course, having more is better, but starting with less should not hold you back. When you delay your retirement planning, you lose out on the biggest ally -- time. Think of saving for retirement as a marathon, not a sprint. It's less important to get a fast start out and more important that you pace yourself for the long haul. If you start to invest with little money now, you will develop a discipline that will help your retirement planning in the long run and give your money more time to grow. Many online brokerages have minimum opening account balances of $1,000 or less. Less traditional, though still good, options like ShareBuilder from Capital One (COF) or Motif Investing allow you to start investing for as little as $250. 2. Be Cheap About Fees Among the biggest impediments to building up your retirement nest egg are fees, such as the commissions associated with buying and selling individual stocks, or the "load" and management fees charged by mutual funds or exchange-traded funds.
- [By Sara Ashley O'Brien]
In partnership with Capital One (COF), the Robin Hood Foundation and Citibank (C), the new center will act as a training school for loan officers, who are crucial to Grameen's strategy of empowering female entrepreneurs.
10 Best Warren Buffett Stocks For 2014: ImmunoCellular Therapeutics Ltd (IMUC)
ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd., incorporated on March 20, 1987, is a clinical-stage biotechnology company. The Company is engaged in developing immune-based therapies for the treatment of cancers, such as brain, ovarian and other solid tumors. Immunotherapy is an approach to treat cancer in which a patient�� own immune system is stimulated to target tumor antigens, which are molecular signals that the immune system uses to identify foreign bodies. The Company�� products include ICT-107, ICT-140, ICT-120, ICT-109 and DIAAD. ICT-107, the pipeline product, is a Phase II therapeutic dendritic cell (DC) vaccine for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the common and lethal type of brain cancer. ICT-107 is designed to activate a patient�� immune system to target six different tumor-associated antigens. In February 2012, it acquired a world-wide license from the University of Pennsylvania and The John Hopkins University (JHU).
The Company in addition to ICT-107, is also developing other therapeutic DC vaccines: ICT-140 for ovarian cancer and ICT-121 for recurrent GBM. ICT-140 targets seven tumor-associated antigens expressed on ovarian cancer cells. ICT-107 is a DC vaccine that targets six different tumor-associated antigens that are found on patients��tumor cells; four of the six antigens are expressed on CSCs. The therapeutic vaccine is used subsequent to conventional therapy or concomitantly with chemotherapy in patients with newly diagnosed GBM. ICT-140 is a DC vaccine that targets seven different ovarian cancer antigens. ICT-121 is a DC vaccine that targets CD133 antigens; it has the potential to be a universal cancer vaccine because CD133 is widely expressed on CSCs from a majority of cancers. Data from this small study demonstrated that ICT-109 had a statistically ability to discriminate between cancerous and non-cancerous samples, suggesting the potential to detect pancreatic and lung cancer in plasma and serum study sets. The DIAAD (differential immunization for an! tigen and antibody discovery) platform it acquired from Molecular Discoveries utilizes immunological tolerization to accelerate the discovery of the molecular differences between diseased cells and their normal counterparts. The monoclonal antibodies produced by DIAAD provide the basis for the discovery and development of its potential diagnostic and therapeutic products.
The Company competes with Dendreon, Oncothyreon, Galena, Bavarian Nordic and Immunovaccine, Northwest Biotherapeutics, Prima Biomed, DCPrime, Roche/Genentech, Seattle Genetics, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Immunogen.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Wallace Witkowski]
Shares of ImmunoCellular (IMUC) �jumped after the drug developer said data on a mid-stage brain cancer drug study were looking encouraging.
- [By Lauren Pollock]
ImmunoCellular Therapeutics Ltd.(IMUC) said its leading product candidate, a dendritic cell-based vaccine for brain cancer, didn’t show a statistically significant advantage in overall survival in a Phase II study. In a research note, Maxim Group said it is pushing its EU approval date target to 2019 and lowered its estimate on the stock to $12 a share from $18 a share. The stock plunged 62% to $1.04 premarket.
- [By Monica Gerson]
ImmunoCellular Therapeutics (NYSE: IMUC) dropped 11.05% to $1.3699. ImmunoCellular's trailing-twelve-month ROE is -59.80%.
Posted-In: market losersNews Movers & Shakers Intraday Update Markets
10 Best Warren Buffett Stocks For 2014: Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated(PEG)
Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, operates in the energy industry primarily in the northeastern and mid Atlantic United States. The company primarily operates as a wholesale energy supply company that integrates its generating asset operations through its wholesale energy, fuel supply, energy trading, and marketing and risk management activities. It operates nuclear, coal, gas, and oil-fired generation facilities. The company also involves in the transmission of electricity and distribution of electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers, as well as invests in the development of solar generation projects and energy efficiency programs. In addition, it owns and operates domestic projects engaged in the generation of energy; and offers appliance services and repairs to customers. As of December 31, 2010, it owned approximately 13,538 megawatts of generation capacity. The company also owned and operated approximately 17,608 miles of gas mains, 12 gas distribution headquarters, and 2 subheadquarters, as well as 62 natural gas metering and regulating stations. Public Service Enterprise Group was founded in 1985 and is based in Newark, New Jersey.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Mark Skousen]
And the builder's valuation is still relatively cheap, selling for only 12 times earnings. Toll Brothers has a price/earnings to growth (PEG) ratio of 0.76 (anything less than 1 is considered excellent).
10 Best Warren Buffett Stocks For 2014: TearLab Corporation(TEAR)
TearLab Corporation operates as an ophthalmic device company. It engages in developing and commercializing TearLab Osmolarity System, a proprietary in vitro diagnostic tear testing platform that measures tear film osmolarity for the diagnosis of dry eye disease. The company?s system enables eye care practitioners to test for sensitive and specific biomarkers using nanoliters of tear film at the point-of-care. Its TearLab Osmolarity System consists of TearLab disposable, which is a single-use microfluidic microchip; TearLab pen, which is a hand-held device that interfaces with the TearLab disposable; and TearLab reader, which is a small desktop unit that allows for the docking of the TearLab disposable and the TearLab pen, as well as provides a quantitative reading for the operator. TearLab Corporation markets its system through a network of distributors in North America, Europe, and Asia. The company, formerly known as OccuLogix, Inc., was founded in 1996 and is headquart ered in San Diego, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Roberto Pedone]
One potential earnings short-squeeze candidate is in-vitro diagnostic player TearLab (TEAR), which is set to release numbers on Tuesday after the market close. Wall Street analysts, on average, expect TearLab to report revenue of $3.51 million on a loss of 13 cents per share.
This company has managed to top Wall Street estimates two times over the last four quarters, which is a bullish earnings trend. If TearLab can delve another beat, then shares could be setting up for a large move higher.
The current short interest as a percentage of the float for TearLab is extremely high at 37.1%. That means that out of the 25.54 million shares in the tradable float, 8.59 million shares are sold short by the bears. This is a huge short interest on a stock with a very low tradable float. If the bulls get the earnings news they're looking for, then shares of TEAR could easily explode higher post-earnings as the bears jump to cover some of their bets.
From a technical perspective, TEAR is currently trending above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bullish. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last six months, with shares moving higher from its low of $5.26 to its recent high of $15.18 a share. During that uptrend, shares of TEAR have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of TEAR within range of triggering a major breakout trade post-earnings.
If you're bullish on TEAR, then I would wait until after its report and look for long-biased trades if this stock manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $14.28 to its 52-week high at $15.18 a share with high volume. Look for volume on that move that registers near or above its three-month average action of 942,598 shares. If that breakout hits, then TEAR will set up to enter new 52-week high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside
- [By Seth Jayson]
TearLab (Nasdaq: TEAR ) reported earnings on May 13. Here are the numbers you need to know.
The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), TearLab beat expectations on revenues and exceeded expectations on earnings per share.
10 Best Warren Buffett Stocks For 2014: Radio One Inc.(ROIAK)
Radio One, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an urban-oriented multi-media company in the United States. It engages in the radio broadcasting operation that primarily targets African-American and urban listeners. As of December 31, 2011, the company owned and operated 54 broadcast stations located in 16 urban markets. It also operates an African-American targeted cable television network and Tom Joyner Morning Show; and owns online platform serving the African-American community through social content, news, information, and entertainment, as well as operates various online social networking Websites, including BlackPlanet, MiGente, and Asian Avenue. The company was founded in 1980 and is based in Lanham, Maryland.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Roberto Pedone]
Radio One (ROIAK), together with its subsidiaries, operates as an urban-oriented multimedia company in the U.S. This stock closed up 3% to $2.67 in Tuesday's trading session.
Tuesday's Range: $2.56-$2.74
52-Week Range: $0.68-$2.75
Thursday's Volume: 99,000
Three-Month Average Volume: 107,808From a technical perspective, ROIAK trended higher here right above some near-term support at $2.48 and above its 50-day moving average at $2.35 with decent upside volume. This move is quickly pushing shares of ROIAK within range of triggering a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if ROIAK manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $2.74 to its 52-week high at $2.75 with high volume.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in ROIAK as long as it's trending above support at $2.48 or above its 50-day at $2.35 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 107,808 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then ROIAK will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that move are $3.50 to $4.
- [By Roberto Pedone]
Radio One (ROIAK) is a multimedia company that primarily targets African-American and urban consumers. This stock closed up 5.8% to $2.35 in Thursday's trading session.
Thursday's Range: $2.21-$2.40
52-Week Range: $0.68-$2.66
Thursday's Volume: 258,000
Three-Month Average Volume: 112,595From a technical perspective, ROIAK ripped higher here back above its 50-day moving average of $2.27 with above-average volume. This stock recently formed a triple bottom chart pattern at $2.10, $2.11 and $2.07. Following that bottom, shares of ROIAK have started bounce sharply higher and move within range of triggering a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if ROIAK can manage to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $2.46 to its 52-week high at $2.66 with high volume.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in ROIAK as long as it's trending above some near-term support levels at $2.10 to $2.07 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 112,595 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then ROIAK will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory above $2.66, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $3 to $4.
10 Best Warren Buffett Stocks For 2014: General Motors Co (GM)
General Motors Company (GM), incorporated in on September 16, 1908, designs, builds and sells cars, trucks and automobile parts worldwide. The Company also provides automotive financing services through General Motors Financial Company, Inc. (GM Financial). It operates in four automotive segments: GM North America (GMNA), GM Europe (GME), GM International Operations (GMIO) and GM South America (GMSA). GM�� total worldwide vehicle sales were nine million during the year ended December 31, 2011. The Company�� GMNA segment develops, manufactures and/or markets vehicles under the brands, such as Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC for its customers in North America. GM for its customers outside North America develops, manufactures and/or markets vehicles under the brands, such as Buick Chevrolet, GMC, Opel, Cadillac, Daewoo, Holden and Vauxhall. In March 2011, the Company announced the sale of its Class A Membership Interest in Delphi Automotive LLP (Delphi) back to Delphi. In October 2012, the Company bought back most of the 50% interest in its Indian operations that it had sold to Chinese partner SAIC Motor Corp Ltd and raised its interest in the venture to 93%.
Automotive
GMNA, with sales, manufacturing and distribution operations in the United States, Canada and Mexico and sales and distribution operations in Central America and the Caribbean, represented 32.4% of the Company�� vehicle sales volume in 2011. GME has sales, manufacturing and distribution operations across Western and Central Europe. GME's vehicle sales volume, which in addition to Western and Central Europe, includes Eastern Europe (including Russia and the other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States among others) represented 19.2% of its vehicle sales volume GMIO distributes Chevrolet brand vehicles which, when sold in Europe, are included in GME vehicle sales volume and market share data. GMIO has sales, manufacturing and distribution operations in Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe (including Russ! ia and the other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States among others), Africa and the Middle East. GMIO represented 36.6% of the Company�� global vehicle sales volume, including sales through its joint ventures in 2011. GMSA, with sales, manufacturing and distribution operations in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela, as well as sales and distribution operations in Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay represented 11.8% of its vehicle sales volume in 2011. In 2011 GMSA derived 59.4% of its vehicle sales volume from Brazil.
As of December 31, 2011, the Company had equity ownership stakes directly or indirectly in entities through various regional subsidiaries, including GM Korea Company (GM Korea), Shanghai General Motors Co., Ltd. (SGM), SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co., Ltd. (SGMW), FAW-GM Light Duty Commercial Vehicle Co., Ltd. (FAW-GM) and SAIC GM Investment Limited (HKJV). These companies design, manufacture and market vehicles under the brands, including Alpheon, Buick, Chevrolet, Jiefang, Baojun, Cadillac, Daewoo and Wuling. In addition to the products GM sells to its dealers for consumer retail sales, and also sells cars and trucks to fleet customers, including daily rental car companies, commercial fleet customers, leasing companies and Governments. It sells vehicles to fleet customers directly or through its network of dealers. The Company�� retail and fleet customers can obtain a range of after sale vehicle services and products through its dealer network, such as maintenance, light repairs, collision repairs, vehicle accessories and extended service warranties.
GM markets vehicles worldwide primarily through a network of independent authorized retail dealers. These outlets include distributors, dealers and authorized sales, service and parts outlets. The Company enters into a contract with each authorized dealer agreeing to sell to the dealer one or more specified product lines at wholesale prices and granting the dealer the right to ! sell thos! e vehicles to retail customers from an approved location. Authorized dealers offer parts, accessories, service and repairs for GM vehicles in the product lines that they sell using GM parts and accessories. Its dealers are authorized to service GM vehicles under its limited warranty program and those repairs are to be made only with GM parts. The Company also markets FlexFuel vehicles in Australia, Thailand and other markets.
GM produces compressed natural gas capable vehicles in Europe, such as the Opel Zafira, and in the United States, the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana full-size vans are offered to fleet and commercial customers. It offers LPG capable vehicles in select markets in Europe, Asia Pacific, South America and North America. OnStar Corporation (OnStar) is a wholly owned subsidiary of GM serving more than six million subscribers in the United States, Canada and China. OnStar is a provider of connected safety, security and mobility solutions and information technology. OnStar's principal services include automatic crash response, stolen vehicle assistance, remote door unlock, turn-by-turn navigation, vehicle diagnostics and hands-free calling.
Automotive Financing - GM Financial
GM Financial specializes in purchasing retail automobile installment sales contracts originated by GM and non-GM franchised and independent dealers in connection with the sale of used and new automobiles. GM Financial also offers lease products through GM dealerships in connection with the sale of used and new automobiles. GM Financial primarily generates revenue through the purchase, retention, subsequent securitization and servicing of finance receivables. GM Financial earns finance charge income on finance receivables and pays interest expense on borrowings under its credit facilities. GM Financial periodically transfers receivables to securitization trusts that issue asset-backed securities to investors. In April 2011 GM Financial originated leases for the Company�� cust! omers in ! Canada.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dan Caplinger]
A look at Europe's big players
Despite the temptation to think of Europe as a single entity, there's a huge disparity among the various national economies and stock markets in Europe. In Germany, where austerity has been a centerpiece of the response to tough economic conditions, the DAX (DAXINDICES: ^DAX ) set a new all-time record high of its own on May 3 and has continued to soar, rising another 5% in just the past few weeks. As Fool contributor Dan Carroll noted last week, European automakers have benefited from a rise in car sales, representing the first gain for the industry in about a year and a half. That's consistent with what we saw from General Motors (NYSE: GM ) earlier this month, which posted losses in Europe of $175 million that were much lower than what anyone had expected. - [By Daniel Miller and John Rosevear]
It's a fact that�Ford's (NYSE: F ) F-Series has been the No. 1 selling vehicle for 36 years, and that won't change. I think General Motors (NYSE: GM ) merely took a small step ahead with the 2014 Silverado, while Ford will be taking a leap ahead with its 2015 F-150 ��a one-year head start won't be enough for GM. Here's why.
10 Best Warren Buffett Stocks For 2014: Track Data Corp (TRAC)
Track Data Corporation is a financial services company that provides real-time financial market data, fundamental research, charting and analytical services to institutional and individual investors through telecommunication lines and the Internet. The Company also disseminates news and third-party database information from approximately 100 sources worldwide. The Company operates in three segments: professional market, which provides market data services and trading, including electronic communications network (ECN) services, to the institutional professional investment community; non-professional market, which includes Internet-based online trading and market data services to the non-professional individual investor community, and arbitrage trading. Its wholly owned subsidiary, Track Data Securities Corp. (TDSC) is a registered securities broker-dealer. Track Data provides an integrated Internet-based online trading and market data system, proTrack, for the professional institutional traders, and myTrack and myTrack Edge, for the individual trader. It operates Track ECN, an ECN that enables traders to display and match limit orders for stocks.
Professional Market
MarkeTrack provides domestic and international market information, updating quotelines, options and futures displays, real-time spreadsheets, tick-by-tick updating graphics, news services and third-party databases, user-defined screen layouts, access to back-office order and execution services. The solution allows users to calculate theoretical values of options and determine the most beneficial investment strategy through calculating returns on alternative investments, including options and futures. MarkeTrack serves approximately 700 customers in trading and institutional investment management positions. Customers include floor traders, block traders, market makers, over the counter (OTC) traders, options specialists, head traders, arbitrageurs and hedge fund managers.
The Company offers proTrack ! as a direct access trading system for the professional market. Among the trading features offered by proTrack are point and click equities and options trading, direct access to market makers and ECNs, hot keys, smart order routing, reserve book, quick modification of existing orders, multiple order types and a variety of market data and news. proTrack offers trading through TDSC and clearing through Penson Financial Services, Inc. It is also available for use by other broker dealers under a service bureau arrangement.
TDSC operates an ECN that enables traders to display and match limit orders for stocks. The ECN allows trading of National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation (Nasdaq) Global Market, Nasdaq Capital Market, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and American Stock Exchange (AMEX) listed securities, and exchange-listed securities on its platform. Track ECN displays orders on the National Stock Exchange (NSX). Track Data Corporation's NewsWatch service includes a consolidated news ticker, including database with text indexing and access to a variety of third-party databases.
The Company competes with Bloomberg Financial, Thomson/Reuters Group, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Inc., Lava, Inc., Acquire Media, NYSE, Nasdaq, DirectEdge and BATS.
Non-Professional Market
Track Data offers Internet-based online trading and market data services through its myTrack and myTrack Edge products. myTrack and myTrack Edge offer trading of United States-based stocks, options and mutual funds, as well as stock index-based futures. For those traders who are the most active and engage in day trading, the myTrack Pro contains multi windows-based features and enhancements that are designed to satisfy the needs of the trader community. myTrack Edge provides access to information on stocks, options, indices, and news, including bid and ask prices, charts, research and other information for any listed or Nasdaq-traded stock and numerous over-the-counte! r bulleti! n board (OTC-BB) stocks, as well as the ability to establish and track securities, cash, margin and buying power positions on a real-time basis. Real-time quotes, news, charting and technical analysis are available in various pay packages. Volume trading can result in rebates equivalent to the service plan charges.
The Company also offers AIQ Systems and Dial/Data Service. AIQ Systems develops and markets artificial intelligence (AI) based stock market analysis and charting software for personal computers. By simulating the reasoning of top market technicians, AIQ's Expert Systems delivers trading signals and market insight, as well as advanced technical charting and screening capabilities. Dial/Data is an Internet-based service that provides historical and end-of-day pricing data for United States, Canadian and European exchange-traded equities and related instruments, futures, equity options, futures options, mutual funds, bonds, government issues, money markets and indexes.
The Company competes with E*Trade Group, Inc., Trade Station Group, Inc., Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., Options Express, TD Ameritrade, Inc., e-Signal, DTN, AT Financial, Data Corp., The Dow Jones Retrieval Service, Compuserve, Telescan, Commodity Systems, Inc., Equis International, Windows on Wall Street and Omega.
Arbitrage Trading
The Company engages in arbitrage trading activity. Its trading strategy consists principally of establishing hedged positions consisting of stocks and options. The Company also engages in options trading. The Company's trading strategy consists of selling short deep out-of-the-money calls and puts.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Bill Smith]
FDS operates in a highly competitive industry, some with more resources. Their competitors include:
Thomson Reuters Corp. (TRI)BloombergInteractive (IDC)MSCI Inc. (MXB)Morningstar Inc. (MORN)Track Data Corp. (TRAC)Edgar Online (EDGR)McGraw-Hill (MHP )
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