Fraud Trial May Put Buffett on Stand

Five General Re and AIG officials face jail over scheme to deceive investors

(NEWSER) - A federal jury yesterday convicted five former insurance executives of fraud, conspiracy, and making false statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission as part of a scheme to deceive investors, Bloomberg reports. The convictions stem from a sham transaction in 2000 between General Reinsurance Corp. and American International Group that added $500 million in loss reserves to AIG’s accounts to soothe investor concerns. More»

Insurance-industry woes mean 'that party is over,' Buffett says

(NEWSER) - Citing a decline in gains from insurance underwriting and sluggish investment returns, holding company Berkshire Hathaway said today that fourth-quarter income was off 18%—to $2.95 billion, from $3.58 billion—from a year earlier, the Wall Street Journal reports. Billionaire chairman Warren Buffett snuck in digs at Wall Street and the federal government while effectively promising declining profit margins for years to come. More»

Deal will be Berkshire Hathaway's largest ever

(NEWSER) - Berkshire Hathaway has agreed to buy up the 77.4% of railroad operator Burlington Northern Santa Fe it didn’t already own for $26 billion, in what would be Warren Buffett’s largest acquisition ever. “It’s an all-in wager on the economic future of the United States,” says Buffett. “I love those bets.” Buffett says he uses railroad data as an indicator of the nation’s financial health. More»

(AP) - Warren Buffett said today the US government is taking the correct actions to help the economy recover. "The government is doing the right things," Buffett said before the opening of Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting. "They're acting in a countercyclical manner." But he said he can't predict how quickly the economy and the markets will improve. More»

Oracle confident as he prepares to be buffeted by shareholders

(NEWSER) - The Oracle of Omaha still sees tough times ahead for the US economy, but he says he thinks the worst is in the past, CNCBC reports. “We’re at a war now to some degree, but Pearl Harbor was September,” Warren Buffett says. “There was a strike at the heart of the American system, the financial system. And we got past that.” But “the war isn’t over,” particularly for Buffett, who will face antsy shareholders tomorrow. More»