...Berkshire Hathaway and GEICO Insurance © 2001 Tim Glowa September 12, 2001 -1- White Paper: Examining Berkshire Hathaway’s 1995 Purchase of GEICO Insurance Tim Glowa Tim@Glowa.ca September 12, 2001 © 2001 Tim Glowa Berkshire Hathaway and GEICO Insurance © 2001 Tim Glowa September 12, 2001 -2- Table of contents Executive Summary.................................................................................................... 3 Introduction................................................................................................................. 4 Review of the case: Berkshire Hathaway purchasing GEICO.................................... 4 Strategic Outcome....................................................................................................... 7 Finance........................................................................................................................ 7 Time Value of Money................................................................................................. 8 Assessment of the GEICO purchase........................................................................... 8 Time value of money ................................................................................................ 11 An examination of the GEICO acquisition in hindsight........................................... 13 Limitations of Discounted Cash Flow .........................................................................
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...Berkshire Hathaway and GEICO Insurance © 2001 Tim Glowa White Paper: Examining Berkshire Hathaway’s 1995 Purchase of GEICO Insurance Tim Glowa Tim@Glowa.ca September 12, 2001 © 2001 Tim Glowa September 12, 2001 -1- Berkshire Hathaway and GEICO Insurance Table of contents © 2001 Tim Glowa Executive Summary.................................................................................................... 3 Introduction................................................................................................................. 4 Review of the case: Berkshire Hathaway purchasing GEICO.................................... 4 Strategic Outcome....................................................................................................... 7 Finance........................................................................................................................ 7 Time Value of Money................................................................................................. 8 Assessment of the GEICO purchase ........................................................................... 8 Time value of money ................................................................................................ 11 An examination of the GEICO acquisition in hindsight........................................... 13 Limitations of Discounted Cash Flow ...................................................................... 15 Limitations of this Analysis ...
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...Case Question 1 In his 2002 letter to shareholders, Warren Buffett referred to financial derivatives as the "financial weapons of mass destruction" and a ticking "time bomb" waiting to explode. His perspective may well be derived from his own experience with some derivative positions his company, Berkshire Hathaway Inc, inherited from the $22 billion purchase of General Reinsurance Corporation in 1998 (Berkshire Hathaway Inc, 2002). Unable to find an agreeable counterparty to buy the General Reinsurance Securities, a subsidiary of General Reinsurance Corporation that deals with derivatives, Buffett decided to close it which required him to unwind the subsidiary's derivative positions. The complexity of the derivatives positions took him years to complete the unwinding and at a pretax loss of $173 million for General Reinsurance Corp in 2002 (Berkshire Hathaway Inc, 2002) and $409 million in cumulative pretax loss as of 2008 (Berkshire Hathaway Inc, 2009). He likens the unwinding process to entering hell, stating that derivatives positions were "easy to enter and almost impossible to get exit" (Berkshire Hathaway Inc, 2004). In 2002, trades in derivatives were growing rapidly in recent years and they pose a "mega-catastrophic risk" that could harm not only their sellers and buyers, but the whole economic system for the following reasons: 1. Mark-to-market accounting (Investopedia 2011) is a legal form of accounting for a venture involved in buying and selling securities...
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...prior written consent of Cambridge Business Publishers, LLC, including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning. Student Edition ISBN 978-1-61853-102-5 Bookstores & Faculty: to order this book, call 800-619-6473 or email customerservice@cambridgepub.com. Students: to order this book, please visit the book’s website and order directly online. Printed in the United States of America. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 About the Authors Peter D. Easton is an expert in accounting and valuation and holds the Notre Dame Alumni Chair in Accountancy in the Mendoza College of Business. P rofessor Easton’s expertise is widely recognized by the academic research community and by the legal community. Professor Easton frequently serves as a consultant on accounting and valuation issues in federal and state courts....
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...today than ever. Indeed, the abrupt departures of two important charismatic CEOs – Charles Prince of Citygroup and Stanley O’Neal of Merrill Lynch – in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, which fetched these firms colossal losses have made scholars to beam their searchlight on this neglected aspect of corporate governance. The nonchalance with the way some CEOs handle the process of succession planning not only puts their companies in jeopardy, but also signposts a major criterion on which outgoing CEOs and their executive board members will be evaluated. Before we proceed, we will issue a caveat: the practice of succession planning runs ahead of the theoretical understanding of the process. In fact, in the course of this research, we did not come across a single work on charismatic leaders. However, we did come across pockets of literature on CEOs and succession planning. It is from these literature and articles from reputable magazines like the Economist, Forbes and the Wall Street Journal that we extrapolated our...
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...As per the fortune magazine, Apple Inc. was ranked the number one admired company in the ear followed by Google and Berkshire Hathaway. These score is based on the votes of the business people all around. All of these companies have to make sure that their stakeholders are comfortable in view of their long term goals. And to achieve stakeholder’s satisfaction, companies need to secure and gain trust in the companies. This is done by a company’s governance and code of conduct. Every company has different governance factors and code of conduct that they adopt. For instance Google’s Code of Conduct is “Don’t be evil”. This is adopted in all the levels of the organisation. This conduct makes them achieve high standards, which helps them hire great people, who build great product, which attract users. This process as a whole makes the stakeholders feel comfortable and secure. The following is the list of Google’s Code of Conduct 1. Serve our users 2. Respect each other 3. Avoid conflicts of interest 4. Preserve confidentiality 5. Protect Google’s Assets 6. Ensure financial integrity and responsibility 7. Obey the law Companies today are constantly innovating ways to remain in touch with their shareholders and investors. There are specific sections on websites which focus specifically on investor relations where they highlight their code of ethics and companies vision. Financial reports are updated constantly and the news that would...
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...THE WARREN BUFFETT WAY Investment Strategies of the World’s Greatest Investor ROBERT G. HAGSTROM MAIN IDEA Warren Buffett is one of the most successful stock market investors of the past 30 years. His entire approach is to focus on the value of the business and its market price. Once Buffett finds a business he understands and feels comfortable with, he acts like a business owner rather than a stock market speculator. He studies everything possible about the business, becomes an expert in that field and works with the management rather than against them. In fact, often his first act on buying shares in any company is to grant the managers his proxy vote for his shares to assure them that he has no intention to try and move the company away from its core values. Buffett champions the value investment strategy, and puts no credence in day to day movements in share prices, the impact of the economic mood overall or any other external factors. He maintains a long-term perspective at all times, and never loses sight of the underlying value of a business. THE BUFFETT APPROACH TO INVESTMENT 1. Never follow the day to day fluctuations of the stock market. The market only exists to make it easier to buy and sell, not to set values. Keep an eye on the market only for someone who is willing to sell a stock at a not-to-be-missed price. 2. Don’t try and analyze or worry about the general economy. If you can’t predict what the stock market will do from day to day, how can you reliably predict...
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...IMPACT OF STOCK SPLIT ON MARKET PRICES OF SHARES Introduction & Overview: In today's financial markets, the distinction between stocks and shares has been somewhat blurred. Generally, these words are used interchangeably to refer to the pieces of paper that denote ownership in a particular company, called stock certificates. However, the difference between the two words comes from the context in which they are used. For example, "stock" is a general term used to describe the ownership certificates of any company, in general, and "shares" refers to a the ownership certificates of a particular company. So, if investors say they own stocks, they are generally referring to their overall ownership in one or more companies. Technically, if someone says that they own shares - the question then becomes - shares in what company? Bottom line, stocks and shares are the same thing. The minor distinction between stocks and shares is usually overlooked, and it has more to do with syntax than financial or legal accuracy. A stock split or stock divide increases the number of shares in a public company. The price is adjusted such that the before and after market capitalization of the company remains the same and dilution does not occur. Options and warrants are included. Take, for example, a company with 100 shares of stock priced at $50 per share. The market capitalization is 100 × $50, or $5000. The company splits its stock 2-for-1. There are now 200 shares of stock and...
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...adolescent and I think this set the foundation’s for his strategies later in life. It also shows that he would not invest something he was not familiar with. Who is not familiar with gum, lemonade and pin ball as a kid?? Warren Buffett was first exposed to formal training in investing at Columbia University, where Buffett studied under Prof. Ben Graham. Graham developed a method that identified undervalued stocks and this was Buffett’s cornerstone approach of what is now called “valued investing”. From 1962 up through the 80’s Buffett really made his mark on the financial institutions across the US. In 1965 Buffett took a risk with Berkshire Hathaway, at first did not pan out but in 1967 with the purchase of stocks in two separate companies it showed how Buffett’s patience has paid off. In 1970 when he became CEO of Berkshire, this was the mark that changed investing for everyone in...
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...Breaking thru the Glass Ceiling GEB 452 Organizational Ethics Introduction For too many women, discrimination still plays a role in the jobs they get, the wages they are paid, and the promotions they receive. The base of this paper is on the ‘glass ceiling’ metaphor, which is the invisible barriers women experience in their rising career, which prevents them from reaching the top of an organization or making it difficult to get there. Even though we have come a long way from how it was fifty years ago it’s undeniable that women still today are not accepted as an equal. Most women seem under-represented in upper management levels in many companies and getting paid less for the same work done by men. This paper will examine some of the obstacles that women have to face during their climb on the corporate ladder and once they arrive. I will also discuss how the gender discrimination has improved thru the years and explain what women are doing to try to break thru the glass ceiling. The Glass Ceiling Women have come a long way during the past century. They have flown alone across the Atlantic Ocean, they have been given the right to vote, they have gone in a rocket into space and they have even been elected to Congress. Even though all they hold all these achievements, women are still facing barriers and gender discrimination in the workplace. It has been shown that even if a woman has received the proper education and credentials, they are often not considered for the...
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...FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT http://mycourses.hult.edu MODULE B 2012-13 INSTRUCTOR Professor Xiaozu Wang EMAIL xiaozu.wang@faculty.hult.edu INSTRUCTOR AVAILABILITY Please contact by email CLASS TIMES & ROOM(S) MIB1: Jan 7, 9, 11, 15, 17, 21, 23, 25, 1:30-4:50, Feb. 1, 9:00-12:20, Feb. 7, 1:30-4:50 COURSE AIMS AND DESCRIPTION OF CONTENT This is an introductory course of finance for MIB students. The course aims to provide students with a conceptual framework and a set of technical tools for making corporate investment decisions. The focus will be maximizing the value of the firm and capital budgeting. Some ethical issues will be highlighted throughout the course. INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES Key (Assessed) Learning Outcomes: On completion of this course, students should understand and be able to do the following: 1. Estimate the cost of capital for corporate investment decisions; 2. Make corporate investment decisions using discounted cash flow method; 3. Manage working capital and corporate long-term growth. Supplemental Learning Outcomes: While not assessed, it is anticipated that students will develop the following: 4. Understand the importance of corporate governance for achieving long-term corporate financial objectives and valuation; 5. Understand some unique features of Chinese capital markets. TEACHING AND LEARNING The course will be a mixture of lectures, case discussions and individual and group practices. Students are expected to do the following. 1. 2...
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...information to the Securities Commission (SC) in 2006. Some even were charged with bribing case in order for their company to get listed in Bursa Malaysia. The company was highly involved with various allegations of corruption and irregularities. Besides, GP Ocean was scheduled to be listed in July 2006, but the company announced a rescheduling of that event in early June which was two weeks before its pamphlet was to be launched. After the approval of the list by the Securities Commission (SC) in early April 2006, the Securities Commission began to receive lots of complaints regards the company’s possible irregularities in the firm’s financial statements. The Securities Commission started to investigate the complaints and further their research by raiding the offices of GP Ocean. Causes Corporate governance is designed to...
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...FIN 4414 Financial Management Course Syllabus Spring 2010 Term INSTRUCTOR: Dr. T. Craig Tapley Graham-Buffett Master Lecturer of Finance Section: Section: Room: 2109 – Monday and Wednesday, Periods 3-4 (9:35 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.) 7111 – Monday and Wednesday, Periods 5-6 (11:45 a.m. – 1:40 p.m.) 112 Matherly Hall Office Hours: Wednesday (2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.) Thursday (1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.) CONTACT INFORMATION: Office: Phone: Fax: E-Mail: 329 David Stuzin Hall (352) 392-6654 (352) 392-5237 ctapley@ufl.edu http://vista.courses.ufl.edu/ Class Webpage: COURSE MATERIALS: TEXTBOOK 1. Financial Management: Theory and Practice (12th Edition), Eugene F. Brigham and Michael C. Ehrhardt, Thompson/South-Western, 2008, ISBN: 0-324-42269-5. The official textbook for the class will be an excellent reference book as you start your career, as you may easily find that there will be times, on the job, when you need to reference prior material, or formulas, covered in your corporate finance classes at UF. However, books have become somewhat expensive, so you may, instead, purchase the 11th or 10th Edition of the book, typically at a cheaper price, through various online booksellers. However, there are minor differences between the 10th, 11th, and 12th editions; mainly in the order of the chapter. These differences should not impact your ability to perform well in this class, but you may need to map the chapters in the 10th or 11th Edition to those assigned in the 12th Edition. This is...
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...The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America Essays by Warren E. Buffett Selected, Arranged, and Introduced by Lawrence A. Cunningham Includes Previously Copyrighted Material Reprinted with Permission THE ESSAYS OF WARREN BUFFETT: LESSONS FOR CORPORATE AMERICA Essays by Warren E. Buffett Chairman and CEO Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Selected, Arranged, and Introduced by Lawrence A. Cunningham Professor of Law Director, The Samuel and Ronnie Heyman Center on Corporate Governance Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law Yeshiva University © 1997; 1998 Lawrence A. Cunningham All Rights Reserved Includes Previously Copyrighted Material Reprinted with Permission TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PROLOGUE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 27 I. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A. B. C. D. E. Owner-Related Business Principles................ Boards and Managers............................. The Anxieties of Plant Closings An Owner-Based Approach to Corporate Charity. A Principled Approach to Executive Pay.......... 29 29 38 43 47 54 II. CORPORATE FINANCE AND INVESTING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. 63 Mr. Market........................................ 63 Arbitrage......................
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...The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America Essays by Warren E. Buffett Selected, Arranged, and Introduced by Lawrence A. Cunningham Includes Previously Copyrighted Material Reprinted with Permission THE ESSAYS OF WARREN BUFFETT: LESSONS FOR CORPORATE AMERICA Essays by Warren E. Buffett Chairman and CEO Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Selected, Arranged, and Introduced by Lawrence A. Cunningham Professor of Law Director, The Samuel and Ronnie Heyman Center on Corporate Governance Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law Yeshiva University © 1997; 1998 Lawrence A. Cunningham All Rights Reserved Includes Previously Copyrighted Material Reprinted with Permission TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PROLOGUE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 27 I. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A. B. C. D. E. Owner-Related Business Principles................ Boards and Managers............................. The Anxieties of Plant Closings An Owner-Based Approach to Corporate Charity. A Principled Approach to Executive Pay.......... 29 29 38 43 47 54 II. CORPORATE FINANCE AND INVESTING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. 63 Mr. Market........................................ 63 Arbitrage......................
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