Omaha, Neb. — The main event of Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting—the question and answer session—ended at about 3 p.m. Central Time (4 p.m. Eastern). Its finale was something of an oddity for a shareholder meeting: a marriage proposal on the floor of the Qwest Center.
Of course, the Berkshire annual meeting is anything but ordinary. About 35,000 people showed up for the event, as Berkshire expected, according to CNBC The company had said attendance could be lower than expectations due to worries about swine flu.
Aside from the marriage proposal, it was a relatively somber affair, as befits the shape of the economy, and the shape of Berkshire’s shares, which are down more than 30% since September. The applause was less enthusiastic than in previous years, meeting veterans say. Shareholders asked Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger questions on topics ranging from their views on the behavior of banks (bad) to their views on how to compensate board directors (don’t) to their expectations for Berkshire’s vast operations (good, mostly). See full article.
Mr. Buffett, 78, and Munger, 85, responded at length to all of these questions, often branching off into philosophical ruminations. “There’s always something going wrong with the world,” said Mr. Buffett at one point.
“It was classic Buffett and Munger,” said Paul Howard, an analyst at Langen McAlenny. “Great quotes, opinions and perspectives on Berkshire’s businesses and how they plan on managing for the future.”
Mr. Buffett said he sees fleeting signs of life in the economy. In the last few months, he said, there has been a “real pickup in activity” in housing, though at very low prices.
Investors now await the release of Berkshire’s first quarter earnings next Friday. Mr. Buffett gave a preview of those results Saturday, noting that Berkshire lost 6% in book value per share in the first quarter due to weakness in the economy and losses in the company’s stock portfolio. The loss, while steep, wasn’t as bad as the nearly 10% drop expected by Mr. Howard.
The event has been relatively light on news. Sunday, Berkshire holds a press conference, which will be the final public event of the weekend.
