On Friday, the S&P 500 was down 0.6% while Toronto was up 0.1%
About the only notable winners on my list was Constellation Software up 3.0% and Element Financial up 3.3%.
As far as losers FedEx was down 3.0% after UPS reported lower profits due to hiring so many extra staff for the Christmas rush. (Which really does not sound like much to be concerned about). Agrium was down 2.3% but that was after recent strong gains. CNR was down 2.1% but had recently hit a 52 week high. Bank of America was down 2.2% and continues to be volatile.
As I write this, the futures markets show the DOW futures down 100 points. That’s only 0.6% which is not really a lot. In any case the direction often changes by the time the market opens.
Warren Buffett has just marked the end of the 50th year since he took control of Berkshire Hathaway in 1965. When his annual letter comes out at the end of February, it’s sure to be a most interesting read. The annual meeting in Omaha will, I am sure, be the biggest yet by a large margin. I’d love to be there but I can’t imagine battling the crowd that will likely approach 50,000 or where I would get a hotel room.
Buffett’s letter this year is apparently going to address the question of how Berkshire achieved its success as well as whether it will continue.
I am working on a new article that addresses the how did they do that? question. It’s still in progress but the first half of the article is finished and I think you may find it offers some insights about Berkshire that you have not seen before.
I have also been documenting a list of all the stocks that Berkshire has disclosed owning since 1976 and when the stock was sold. I may be able to organize this into some kind of article to display the kind of stocks Buffett has chosen over the years.