the chairman and ceo of berkshire hathaway. ome of berkshire's ownership stakes in different securities. one of the things we haven't got to talk to you about is american express. it's been in the headlines because it lost exclusivity with costco. what did you think of that? >> obviously american express and costco that have been linked up for well over ten years, each in terms of negotiating an extension of a contract that runs out march 31st of 2016 that american express made their best offer and costco thought they could do better elsewhere. it's simply a question. >> the question on the street has been that a lot of people didn't understand just how important that relationship was to american express. there have been some people that even said the company wasn't completely straightforward in that relationship. would you agree with that? >> i just read the public material but the costco relationship obviously you knew it was an exclusive -- anybody that shopped at costco could not use another credit card. they could use a deb

berkshire hathaway 3g get the controlling stake.holders get one share of the new company plus a special dividend being funded by 3g and warren buffett. $16 to two cents a share. they get to retain kraft's regular dividend. -- $16.52 a share. the benefit of the company being owned by what some would argue the most talented investors in the world the combined companies looking at adding to earnings in 2017. mark: ed hammond call this a this calls this a complex deal. scarlet: when they take out a company, they take it out and cut costs and at that and ipo it back into the market. this is a reverse ipo. this is not hammond a one and one. this is advanced mergers. -- m and a 101. kraft has $10 billion in debt. heinz will refinance its high-yield debt. on top of that, it is calling back the preferred share that it pays to warren buffett with a 9% annual dividend. mark: the deal is supposed to close in the second half of the year. >> it took about 100 and 13 days -- 113 days for berkshire and 3g to complete the heinz deal. that required a

with a major food deal, 3g capital acquiring kraft foods in hardship with warren buffett's berkshire hathawayor you? they will form america's third-biggest food and beverage company. kraft foods will get a cash buyout plus a special dividend. berkshire and 3g will invest $10 in the new company. and in france, two americans were on board the flight that crashed yesterday. they found the cockpit recorder from the flight but are still looking for the flight data recorder. also crossing the bloomberg terminal right now, veteran republican senator calling it quits. dan coats of indiana says he will not run again next year. he first ran in 1988 to replace dan quayle. amanda knox is again awaiting the judgment of an italian court. she spent the last seven years trying to prove your innocence and the notorious 2007 murder case. now today, italy's highest court is referring -- is reviewing earlier testimony. and it is one of the most broadcast songs of the 20th century. the benny king -- the ban he keying song --be e king song, and by "stand by me" is being honored. olivia: the u.s. housing market is

it is notable berkshire hathaway knows their stuff when it comes to ckraft.arted to just slightly reduce the overall holding. at one point they were the biggest shareholder of kraft. they started to reduce the overall exposure. they didn't like the fact kraft was selling pizza brands. warren buffett said those deals were down. it looks as though we have got belief in the company once again. now it comes to the price tag. what will they pay? we saw the spike close to 17%. check that out. the amounts are being bandied about. that is an 11% premium. investors are slightly more hopeful they might be able to get more money from 3g capital but clearly they feel it is an asset worth buying. this is a company that has a lot of experience in improving operations. kraft hasn't been performing well. the chief executive stepped down. he retired because sales are basically stagnated. we saw them at a complete flat level for 2014. can they rejuvenate the food brands and bring them into the future? we will see how it does, but we want to see what the price tag will be. manu

. >>> warren buffet turned over berkshire hathaway. itt $360 billion it owns geico, see's candy, burlington northern, has stake in coke whia coca-cola, ibm and stress. we asked how it is doing. >> we are continui make progress, just like we have since fall of 2009. things hit bottom. the whole country was paralyzed for a period of time. but once we started coming back, we kept coming back. i get figures in all kinds of businesses by the day almost. certainly by the week. and most of our businesses are doing more business than they were last year and we are doing more business last year than the year before. and we had not hit anything like a boom type. but compared to the rest of the world, i mean, the united states is really been leading the world out of what was sort of the recession to end all recessions. >> even though we have been doing better and better and gains have continued to come in, you yourself said that those gains aren distributed evenly. income equality is a growing concern and something that politicians are talking ab

it already owns heinz, 3g capital with berkshire hathaway. they could combine kraft and heinz to make a juggernaut making $30 billion per year. that could cost the overall market valuation of kraft as it stood before the deal was speculated in the press, $36 billion. let's take it to a the dream team seems to be here. berkshire hathaway and 3g capital, they would be working together once again. two years ago, they bought heinz together. it was warren buffett that helped finance the deal of 3-d capital getting into heinz. last year berkshire hathaway again teaming with 3g capital to help burger king by tim hortons. that is the canadian coffee and doughnut company. that merger producing a much bigger company now known as restaurant brands international. berkshire hathaway knows his stuff. they were a long-term investor. at one point, they were the biggest shareholder in kraft. they didn't really like what was going on with the cadbury buyout . warren buffett said the two deals were dumb. but it looks like his appetite is being whet again when i

well, berkshire hathaway shares currently trading down. can you imagine a stock that trades down that much? $217,000? why? he's never split that stock. down half a percent. pays to watch "countdown." you'll find what's going on before headlines hit elsewhere. do you want to know whether an apple watch is in your future or whether it will be a hit? the futurist who saw something one way when she looked just a month or two ago now completely making an about-face, reversing her opinion. why? we'll find out what changed her mind. statmind. straight ahead. last minute of trade. let's start the "countdown." good afternoon, everybody. news alert here. the next two days are guaranteed to be volatile. buckle up. the european central bank is holding its policy meetings tomorrow. many are speculating it's likely that quantitative easing or, of course, large-scale asset purchases to pump up the market will be announced. after today's mediocre adp number, which is the private sector jobs report, there is nervousness surrounding the friday nonfarm febru

alix: number six investors are watching closely for signs of berkshire hathaway's next successor overkend. in warren buffett's annual letter he says they have the right person for the job without naming names. charles munger did highlight two berkshire managers as world leading executives. why not just announce? bo: this is biblical like jain and abel. berkshire hathaway is like its own religion. julie: buffett has got a shtick. he is folksy it's all this for breakfast -- it is all part of the shtick. this is part of that michelle g. -- that mythology. bo: showmanship. alix: he says his son would be a safety belt so if someone doesn't like the ceo they can go to him and say hey, can we talk about this? what is that say about his confidence level? bo: stirring the pot. alix: really? bo: does a great job with it. alix: coming up, airbnb is on a chair. the startup is valued at $20 billion. but what is really justifying this valuation? ♪ alix: we continue to count down to the opening bell. we are halfway through. number five airbnb's growing warchest. the company is set to raise funds tha

. >>> did the oracle of omaha give any hints who is going to take over at berkshire hathaway? at the top of minds of many investors. >>> warren buffett released his annual letter to shareholders this weekend. in it he celebrated 50 years at the helm of his company and delivered his musings on the market. in an interview earlier today, buffett offered this piece of advice for investo. >> i always say, if you aren't investing for value, what are you investing the idea that value and growth are two different things makes no sense. i mean growth is part of the value equation. a company that grows and uses little capital in doing, high returns on incremental capital is worth more money than one that doesn't grow. >> buffett also touched on an issue his shareholders care deeply about. the vice chairman hinted over the weekend that the next ceo could be one of two men within the organization. >> it's a horse race. that story comes from charlie saying that those two are world class, which they absolutely are. in fact he said describing them as world class was probably an underestimate

heinz owned by the private equity firm 3g and warren buffett's berkshire hathaway will control 51% of the combined company with kraft shareholders owning the rest. both 3g and buffet say they'll invest ano $10 billion in the company and as sara eisen reports, the deal could have a big impact on the global food business. >> reporter: kraft singles and mack and cheese? meet heinz beans and ketchup. owned by brazilian private equity giant 3g and warren buffett. third biggest world company in the world and americas. heinz in pittsburgh and kraft chicago. heinz ceo bernard oh hess will be ceo of the kraft company and kraft's ceo chairman of the board. >> we believe this transaction will allow us to make the changes that we need to make to become a stronger business much faster than we would be able to do on our own. like most teams make it's the right move at the right time. >> reporter: now is a tricky time for food companies as they try to keep up with fast-changing taste. consumers migrate to healthier and natural choices. but warren buffett will be a top shareholder of the new company

. >> you've controlled the interest in berkshire hathaway for 50 years. this is the 50th year anniversary that you took over. what is it you like most about your job, what is it you like the least? >> the fact i get to do whatever i like. i mean, i get to do exactly every day what i love doing and i get to do it with people i love. all the decisions are elective. one thing i don't like is when i have to make a change. when i tell somebody i think somebody else can do a better job. that is pure agony. i usually postpone it. suck my thumb. do all kinds of things before i finally carry it out. that's the only unpleasant part of my job. >> you've said that basically your diet, your tastes haven't changed since you were about 6 years old. >> that's true. >> you still drink about five coca-colas a day. >> i do drink -- >> you love, we're not talking about the low sugar -- >> oh, no, no. i get about 700, 750 calorie also a day from coca-cola. about a quarter of me. if you look at me, you're looking at about one-quarter coca-cola. >> i think you're the only perso

this is a company that berkshire hathaway purchased 40 years ago. kshire held the first annual meeting in omaha in 1973. you want to talk about humble beginnings, we're sitting with the same table that was here those years ago sitting on the same chairs and looking at the same vending machines that are here as well. our special guest today is the man behind it all berkshire's chairman and ceo warren buffett. thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you for coming. >> i know this is 50 years since berkshire hathaway has been under your control. we have a lot we'll be talking about with that this morning. >> we'll do it day by day. >> we will. 50 years it's coming. we have a lot to talk about in a moment. by the way, you reached out across many social media platforms. warren is ready to answer your questions. first, before we get to that joe and andrew are back in new york. they have a round up of the day's top headlines. >> one day at a time. you're right. we have the bro mans happenmance happening. i don't know why you haven't taken becky's

ken: it is indirectly as a part of berkshire hathaway. we can follow along, the company does file public 10k's. hard to say whether it will issue stock. julie: it is actually quite confusing. kraft shareholders will own 49% of the combined entity, 3g and berkshire hathaway will on 51%. sounds like it will be some kind of reverse ipo for heinz through kraft, effectively. it does not explicitly say that. if you are a current shareholder in greece kraft -- in kraft and you will own 49% of kraft-heinz you have to assume the company will be publicly owned. nothing that has been said today has explicitly laid out that that is true or how that would work. olivia: i'm fascinated by the brazilian billionaire behind 3g. if you look at what they have done, burger king buying tim hortons. no suggested that heinz and kraft are going across the border. what they had done with heinz so far, they have cut 1000 out of 22,000 jobs and closed a couple plants. does look like that is there m.m. -- their m.o. ed hammond said there's an expression at 3g people

berkshire hathaway has hired a handful of bankers for possible sale.verage you on investors in grade corporate bonds -- an investment corporate bonds has dropped to 88 -- 8.8%. the other side of abercrombie & fitch struggles. i know, what your eyes, selling the private plane. they had to write up the value of the plane by $1 million. former ceo once at a 40 page manual addressing the behavior of people on the gulfstream jet. conference call to investors that the search for jeffrey's replacement has not happened. >> the overall process moving at an acceptable pace. important to note these things takes -- these things takes times. >> today abercrombie posted 10% plunge in same-store sales in the last quarter. the sky is one of the tallest building in the world. of for sale. also $1 million off. formally known as the sears tower could fetch $1.5 billion, 110 story building is sold in 2004 to a group of chicago investors. there are a lot of ways to pay. use apple came with a bump. the payment options is a confusing world. the managing director joins us rig

berkshire hathaway and 3g capital.y previously bought heinz together two years ago when they combined their power. more recently, one year ago they worked on getting burger king's acquisition of tim hortons the canadian maker of coffee and doughnuts. they joined forces then and they are going to like berkshire hathaway's expertise when it comes to kraft. they are a long-term holder of kraft stock. warren buffett did not like what was going on in 2010, he said in his usual blunt way that both deals were dumb that kraft was doing. it looks like he has his appetite back for kraft. after-hours trading we saw the share price up 17%. there we go. it is up 16% currently. what will the price tag be? many say it will be $40 billion. it could be even higher. guy: thank you very much. indeed. building brands on youtube to read we are going to go live to adweek to find out how the video streaming site is working to increase its advertising appeal. that interview is coming up in a couple of minutes. ♪ guy: good morning, everybody.

a $30 billion investment from 3g capital and berkshire hathaway.k. stick around. you had some blocks and you had major thoroughfares and corridors that were just totally pitch black. those things had to change. we wanted to restore our lighting system in the city. you can have the greatest dreams in the world, but unless you can finance those dreams, it doesn't happen. at the time that the bankruptcy filing was done, the public lighting authority had a hard time of finding a bank. citi did not run away from the table like some other bankers did. citi had the strength to help us go to the credit markets and raise the money. it's a brighter day in detroit. people can see better when they're out doing their tasks, young people are moving back in town the kids are feeling safer while they walk to school. and folks are making investments and the community is moving forward. 40% of the lights were out, but they're not out for long.they're coming back. >>> a crafty deal for warren buffett. and the co-maker of ketchup maker heinz. a trip inside the monster

if you look at it, 3g capital and berkshire hathaway are investing a lot less than they would if they were doing traditional acquisition, essentially putting in $10 billion in cash, which is split more or less evenly between berkshire and 3g capital. then during the sharing of the shares getting -- with kraft getting 49%. it's not what you typically see. not taking on any debt, which is unusual. trish: they don't need bankers. how much did buffett make in this deal? how much is the combined company actually worth? ed: it's difficult to figure out the actual value. we think the value is around the 50 billion mark. that is what we put on it now. from what we understand it did not come together phenomenally quickly. one thing holding it up was how much is this actually worth to kraft shareholders? they are taking a stake in a private company and becoming a bigger public company. nobody knows what the shares of the combined company will trade at. trish: you said you liked the deal. the cheeseburger, you said you own the whole food industry with that. this is a large number. have you feel

kraft and heinz will merge with 3g capital and warren buffett's berkshire hathaway.valued at over $40 billion. google making the most of its ties to white house. according to white house logs, google averaged a visit a week to the white house. larry page also met with top ftc officials to discuss settlement talks over an antitrust violations. google's access during a critical phase of that probe is a sign of the search engine's growing clot in d.c. comcast execs may wish they had more clot in washington. it expects its merge we are timewarner cable will be delayed until the middle of this year. a comcast executive blames a regulatory delay, including the fcc's decision to delay the review of that deal. well, will it be an amazon or paypal or apple pay killer? facebook announcing new messaging in e-commerce efforts that will make it a one-stop shop for social media and e-commerce. will it be enough to keep the millennial audience, you youngings to crush the competition? luke is here. and mashable technology editor. let's talk about this first to you, pete. first of al

in his annual letter to investors, he said berkshire hathaway board has the right person for the job. charlie munger added to the speculation and said the two managers g. jane and able are world executives who are in some ways better than buffet. tom: let's get the week started and blow through it quickly and get to the screen which talks to the economics. the euro is 1.11. hydrocarbons are soggy down to 1%. on to the next screen. bring it on. there it is. the big 13.34. that's fascinating and is a major headline from last week that the volatility finally calmed down. the german two-year, thanks to the negative team, negative 0.23 on the german two-year and on we go. weakness with the rate cut this morning. over to the bloomberg terminal. brenda demanded i do this. this is inflation back to j.f.k. and l.b.j. the breaking of volcker. what people don't know is how much time we've spent under 2%. if 2% -- if a guy like calamiris put pixels in the air and pixey dust and came up with the number that 2% is the important number and we've been under it a lot as we look at the core p.c. inflat

so few try to emulate the model of berkshire hathaway.ne day buffett will no longer will be with us and that will be terribly sad. but we'll -- what will be worse is we have learned to revere only him and not his style or his methods or his way of doing business. you know the phrase you can't take it with you? well, in buffett's case maybe you can. but i'm not talking about the money. the bottom line is i'm talking about a different wonderful way of running a company. and creating wealth for hundreds of thousands of acolytes because he's been left to do the job better than anyone else ever will perhaps at any other company can. can i speak to kathy? >> caller: hi, i'm an elder i will investor. i have been interested in chevron since it was in the $90 price range but my husband wanted to think about it and then it was at 130 and over. i'm wondering what your thinking is about oil and chevron in particular? >> i wasn't happy about chevron because they bought a ton of stock higher and then it goes lower. that's not my thing. you want to own

it was funded by 3g capital and by berkshire hathaway. sales of existing homes fell over january according tn of re. websites and real estate data firms like zillow make housing stats that used to be closely held. things like sale prices for every home. it's online to everyone. stan humphries is the chief economist and the new rules of real estate. thank you very much for being here today. ist a buyer's or seller's market. >> it's still a seller's market and we think it will be a good selling season, but the negotiating power is moving towards buyers. >> can you get extras or knock off the price? >> i think that if you are a buyer, what is attractive is rates are still low and more inventory than the past few years and there is because you have more inventory and prices are slowing down, sellers don't have the power they did before. it is still broadly a seller's market meaning $ less than there has been four years ago. power is starting to come back towards the buyers. >> for most people buying is the biggest investment that they will ma

. >> well, speaking of berkshire hathaway our next guest announcing a new investment competition calledhat warren buffet will buy next. looking for the next investment idea for the oracle omaha. the ceo and co-founder of sum zero the financial idea sharing platform running the competition. >> how are you doing? >> doing well. you've been running the competitions. this one steps it up. this is interesting. why this? >> it's good to know everyone here is a fan of warren buffet. sum zero being the largest community for buy side professionals, we thought it was only appropriate to run a contest alongside the annual shareholders meeting in omaha. what's unique about the contest for the first time we're allowing really anyone who's a warren buffet disciple to contribute an idea and their best pitch, the theme being what will warren buy next, berkshire hathaway buy next in the form of a passive investment in a public security or a kind of full-on acquisition. >> you will take in the suggestions and you're literally going to present them by fedex. >> exactly. >> to the oracle of omaha. >> we're

. >> reporter: warren buffett's berkshire hathaway and 3g capital snapped up heinz two years ago. they're engineering this sale and plan to invest $10 billion in the new company. buffett said in a written statement, this is my kind of transaction and added that he's excited by the opportunities for what this newcomb biened organization -- new combined organization will achieve. it's anticipated the sale will be finalized later this year. cbs news, new york. >> the deal is subject to approval by kraft shareholders and regulators. if it passes those hurdles, the merger is expected to close in the second half of 2015. >>> the doors' first album is among the class of 2015 at light breaker of conference. lauryn hill's album, the recordings have to be at least ten years old and are chosen for their cultural, historical significance. the 1969 album "stand" is one of the most heavily sampled according to all time. >>> coming up on wusa9 news, a close call for passengers on a bus in brazil. they scrambled to safety just minutes before it disappeared down a raging river. howard? >> it may n

berkshire berkshire hathaway. a name man at the helm of mcdonalds. we're going to get to those stories in a moment. big tech news. you're going to lead the way with samsung. >> samsung is launching two new phones. one has a curved screen but both new phones they can charge wirelessly really cool. also they have a heart rate monitor and the edge you can actually maybe check out the time look at the stock ticker on the edge of the screen. i think that's neat. the bigger question is is this a game changer? can they reclaim lost market share lost the apple? in other news back to berkshire hath aways. the annual shareholder meeting has been held. in that lert dropping a hint. he said i found the successor. i'm not going to give away the name but it could be either. the head of the energy business or mr. jane head of the top insurance business. the big question is will they be better or able to outperform his performance so far. >> we have a big one in the fact that it's the first day on the job for mcdonald's ceo. >> a lot is on his plate. according to "t

heinz in a deal orchestrated by 3g capital and berkshire hathaway.e about the cost savings. >> the combination will generate substantial synergies, which we currently expect to be about $1.5 billion, as well as many revenue expansion opportunities domestically and abroad. betty: with me to discuss this is marshall, the chairman of his firm. lots of m&a experience including the deal between disney and abc that is still paying off. what is your take? marshall: this is fascinating. it is not an acquisition, it is a merger. it is not really what people associate with private equity it is a very different model of private equity. in some ways, if i can use an expression, this is repackaging packaged food into new configurations corporately, kraft having been separated from mondelez and heinz being taken out of the public market. that is a spin on it -- betty: this is interesting. you say that 3g is pioneering a new model. tell me what is different about what they do versus traditional pricing. marshall: what i think 3g are doing is an old model of capital

it is only opened to berkshire hathaway shareholders planning to attend the company's annual meeting in omaha and they must submit shortest says. buffet's old room still has two twin beds. erika and diana. >> how about that. >> thank you. >>> happening today philadelphia mayoral candidate jim kenny picks up another major endorsement the philadelphia afl-cio represents 13,000 blue collar workers. the the union chose kenny because of his support for working families while on city council. a few days ago the philadelphia federation of teachers also endorsed kenny. the mayoral primary is may 19th. >>> former congress woman gabriel giffords will be in trenton for a round table discussion on protecting women and families from gun violence. earlier this week she pushed for a new gun bill in connecticut to force subjects of the restraining order or protective order to surrounder their firearms and ammunition within 24 hours of being notified of that order. >>> vice-president joe biden has in the spilled any secret about his plans for next year, but a grass roots group is trying to draft by t

stock in the new entity plus a crash dividend financessed by investors including berkshire hathaway. >>> there's a recall on ice cream this morning. blue bell is recalling three ounce cups of chocolate, vanilla and strawberries with tab lids. the ice cream could be contaminated with listeria. no illnesses reported. >>> part of the south bay home scorched by fire, cars burned, firefighters couldn't get inside. what was holding them up coming up? >> what's cool about your school? email your nominations to us at coolschools@kpix.com. we may come and feature your school on the show. >>> when search crews caught up with a missing hiker on mount tam police put her in hands cuffs. the 23-year-old had outstanding misdemeanor warrants. >> apparently she was not as lost as first believed and the fact of the matter appears that she in fact was just trying to avoid contact with law enforcement. those in fact who were here to try to save her. >> authorities say the woman appears to be a transient who was living in her car. >>> four people are looking for a new place to live after their home in ea

. >> i first went into general foods on behalf of berkshire hathaway in the early 1980s. i think maybe we were larger shareholder of general foods and these brands of kraft, a lot of them come out of general's food. so these are brands that i like 30 plus years ago and like them today and think i like them 30 years from now. >> reporter: the first order of business cutting costs. management says they're at least $1.5 billion worth of synergies. opportunities in the area to cut cost everything from marketing to manufacturing. another great opportunity international. heinz gets 61% of its sales abroad while kraft is mostly focused on north america. for "nig >>> henry buickma owns shares of kraft and talking to us more about the deal and other companies he thinks could potentially pair up. he's president and codirector of giasuta investment advisors. thank you for being here. >> thank you very much for having me. >> what do you think about this deal? do you see the synergies in this combination, the two companies do?synergies are somewhat modest. they promise $4.15 billion o

if you went back to 1980, very few people bought the company called berkshire hathaway. as expensive. commissions were really expensive. a couple hundred bucks to buy and a couple hundred bucks to sell. i want you to look at berkshire hath righ hathaway. it outperformed the market significantly. the amount it's up is mind-boggling. even if you bought the market, you would be doing well. if you're not spooked out of the market during difficult times, you can be richly rewarded. buying berkshire in march of 1980, 833000% right now. with all due respect, the only thing that's stupid with investment is basing it on pennies instead of long-term potential. this one from a guy named thomas harris. awesome note you sent out. here's a perfect example why you don't have to buy multiple shares to profit. seven shares of biogen have earned 30% in six months. you are the man, charles. no, thomas, you're the man. perfect timing on that email. thanks a lot. that brings us to our next real, real deal. i've spent the last seven or eight months doing this show trying to help people get int

get the latest round of economic reports and we will be hearing from big companies such as berkshire hathawaywhich will be out with its annual report and earnings in a letter to investors. a lot of companies, such as adidas, barclays, merck, scheduled to report. we will also be getting the latest information from u.s. personal spending. it probably fell in february, reflecting part of the drop we are seeing in gasoline purchases. it shows incomes -- u.s. manufacturing probably held close to a one-year low in february as falling oil prices limited demand and export markets remain weak. by wednesday, we will get the latest from the beige book. that is a snapshot of the economy in 12 separate bank regions. washington, d.c., the supreme court will be waiting in on obama care. the federal reserve will release results of his latest bank stress test. on friday, the monthly jobs data. u.s. companies probably added about 235,000 workers to their payrolls in february. i am su keenan, bloomberg tv news. >> this is the equity position of the moment. we have a market in seoul. south korean stocks samsung

warren buffett's berkshire hathaway is planning to sell its first bond in euros. ing to people familiar with it, berkshire has hired a handful of bankers. in euros, it has dropped to an all-time low of .88 percent last week. another sign of abercrombie & fitch struggles. this is a tragedy. they are selling their private plane. they had to write down the value of that plane by $1 million. the ceo once had a 40-page manual indicating how people should act and dress upon the plane. the chairman says the search for his replacement is moving along. >> the overall process is moving at an acceptable pace, but it is important to note that these things take time. it is more important that we get the right person than to move quickly. >> today they posted a 10% plunge in same-store sales from the quarter. and the tallest building in the world is up for sale. it is also $1 million off, but maybe not. the willis tower, formerly known as the sears tower, was built in the early 1970's. it was sold in 2004 to a group of new york and chicago investors. there are a lot of ways to p

ajit jain and greg abel who runs berkshire hathaway energy.unger vice chairman of warren buffett this that letter. because those two were brought out and charlie said he thinks either one of them would be great in the job, either one of them would have things they did greater than buffett himself, because of that tongues have been wagging, setting off a horse race. we asked buffett about that this morning. he said that is not the case. >> there's not a horse race. and that story comes from charlie saying that those two are world class, which they absolutely are. in fact, he said describing them as world class was probably an understatement. and i would totally agree with that. either one of those men could run just about any company you could name. it wouldn't just be berkshire. they are incredible managers. and we are lucky to have them. >> we also got the chance today to talk to buffett about a lot of things outside of berkshire including the headlines that we see in the news. and it seems like just about every day we've been talking about g

a favorable level of funding in europe than at home, you got berkshire hathaway.versification of the investor base. francine: something we have to delve into and bring to our viewers. thank you for that. simon of bloomberg. we will bring you the ecb news conference from 1:30 u.k. time. guy: can draghi save the euro project? tweet us. is he doing whatever it takes? will he do whatever it takes today? @flacqua, @guyjohnsontv. back in a couple minutes. ♪ francine: welcome back to "the pulse." live on bloomberg tv and streaming on the ipad. guy: etsy is going to the market. the site that sells everything from crocheted chickens to soviet era silliness has filed for a $100 million ipo. francine: leslie picker has numbers. leslie: etsy is about to become new york's biggest tech ipo since 1999. the company is an e-commerce site for buying and selling handmade and vintage goods. five numbers that explain growth -- 10 years. etsy was started in june 2005. a golden age for tech ipos. these days tecchies like alibaba are waiting a decade before going public. twenty cents. se

berkshire hathaway has more than a dozen newspapers. governing council is committed to starting its first asset purchases next week. welcome back to the bottom line. good to see you again. the ecb president, mario draghi, discussed the extent to which the central bank may by government bond with negative yields. policymakers did leave the rate at -2/10 of a percent today. what is your reaction to his remarks? >> i think the most surprising part of those remarks was how bullish he was in terms of their ability to solve the deflation problem and how the assumption was that all of this was going to work. well, good luck. i suspect it has taken a lawful that's an awfully long time -- i suspect it has taken an awfully long time. i suspect we will be back again saying this will be going on for longer, will have to do more of it. they really don't know what the effects of these policies will be. a little late and it will be on for longer than you think. >> did mr. draghi have another viable alternative to bond buying? did he take a page from t

was engineered by heinz' owners 3g capital and a billion billionaire investor warren buffet berkshire hathaway. kraft share owner will receive stock in the company and approximately $10 billion or $16.50 per share. wow. there you go. we look at that story. a quick flash of the markets, and a lot of excitement going on there. that's it. follow me on twitter at bb "sport today." bye-bye. >>> hello there. this is "sport today." coming up some last minute fine tuning one of australian crickets all time greats on hand as they prepare for a world cup semifinal against india. some stinging criticism from the challenges to his people presently. >>> and tiger's target the u.s. ryder cup captain revealed woods is already setting his sites on next year's match. >> hello. welcome to ""sport today"" from the bbc sport center. after neiled after new zealand's incredible victory, is it to be the australians or indians? a report from group. >> new zealand left south africa heartbroken. australian will start as faifrtsz but india has the aura of defending champions about them. what kind of pitch will they get

the former chairman of the company sold to berkshire hathaway for $7 billion. to have you here. thank you for joining us on the roof in tel aviv. for businesses and the business community, do the elections matter? >> they do. there are winds of change in the air. nobody can make prediction but we all want to live with the rest of the world. if you want to get big, you have to go outside. israel is a small market. amazing amount of entrepreneurs in the jewish and arab sector everywhere. people want to do things, they need more markets. we have no reason to be there, we want a leadership that will find how to live with the rest of the world. the old models do not work, you have to do something with the future. elliott: i do not want to get too political but currently the relationship between netanyahu and president obama in the u.s., israel's second biggest market, is not great. if netanyahu wins and makes good on his promise to forget about these negotiations, there could be isolation from your. -- from europe. is that something you feel? >> there is peace. at a

. >> i first went into general foods on behalf of berkshire hathaway in the 1980s. we were the largest shareholder of general foods and these brands that kraft, a lot of them come out of that general foods holding. i like these brands today and i'll like them 30 years from now. >> erin good morning to you. thank you for joining us. now both of these companies, they do have international revenues but really they're u.s. exposure. is this an all out bet on the u.s. consumer? >> i think that that could be part of it but heinz is fairly diversified from a global perspective. they generate 60% of their sales outside of north america. including 25% in emerging and developing markets so one of the intentions will be to utilize heinz's global distribution platform to extend the sales and reach of craft's domestically based products. >> they would become the third largest food beverage firm in north america surpassing coca-cola. is bigger better? we've seen in some sectors like finance and tech if a company gets too big it's hard for management to achieve their core strategy

largest in north america, funding from the deal is coming from 3g capital and warren buffett's berkshire hathaway. lets go to the big board and look at the closing numbers it was a brutdal day. the dow closed 292 points and the nasdaq lost 118 and the s&p lost 30 points. >> a local company is expanding a popular liquor brand they introduced a new blue coat barrel begin the create hes say if has a unique taste with sweeter notes and is expected to hit store shelves in a couple of weeks, they will a dual cocktail competition featuring some of the city's top bartenders. >> a big new warning for parents that have teenagers behind the wheel. aaa shows that distractions while driving play a far bigger role in teen accidents than previously thought then goes far beyond texting. the number one cause of teenage deaths in the u.s. is car accidents and this shows some of the possible reasons, teens texting and putting on lipstick and adjusting the radio a new study from the aaa foundation for traffic safety looked at 1300 videos that captured teen drivers in action moments before a crash income 60% of the m

heinz and kraft are joining brokers in -- are joining by a deal brokered by berkshire hathaway. >>> radioshack'skruptcy auction is underway. your personal info could be up for bids. the company claims more than 117 million customers contact and e-mail addresses as one of its assets. however, in a legal challenge the state attorneys general of texas and tennessee say this would breach radioshack's 94- year-old privacy policy saying they will not sell customer data. >>> ford has new technology that could prevent drivers from ever getting speeding olympics it. its intelligence speed limit -- speeding tickets. its intelligence speed limit technology will slow you down if you're going too fast. this new technology is available in europe on the new ford x max. >>> here's what's coming up in the next half hour on wusa9. >> reporter: pothole blues underway in d.c. i'll have that coming up plus the price tag. >> reporter: it's wo >>> a sobering new study shows distracted driving among teens is a much more serious problem than first thought. aaa says distractions were factors in six of nearly 10 moderate

he lays out his mistakes in gory detail, including buying berkshire hathaway which was a textile firmen further buying national indemnity using berkshire shares and giving the shareholders a benefit that way. i just want to tell you, we all have to learn from our mistakes. if you're not making mistakes, you're not trying. >> it's very easy to look back and say should have, could have, would have. the fact is at the time, we struggle with the decision, i think we made a decision at the time that what we knew, it was a good decision. it's laughable to say that now i suppose. when you think -- >> it sounds clearly -- >> when you think -- >> excuse me. you go ahead. >> yeah. when you think about running companies, you think about the culture, the people, the products and the growth of the company as being central to your identity and opportunity. the end of the day, that's what i prioritized. >> you're saying that the excite that you knew and loved in your mind would have ended that day, right, because google would have done what you said they wanted to do and the company as you knew it w

he is buying for keeps. >> i first went in to general foods on behalf of berkshire hathaway in the earlyest shareholder of general foods. these bran as the kraft a lot come out of the general foods holding. these are brans that i liked 30 plus years ago and i like them today and i think i'll like them 30 years from now. >> whether consumers will like brands 30 years from now, a big question in the marketplace as krafts brands lost market share. buffett points out 7 billion consumers around the world and thinks plenty of them will continue to enjoy products like kraft macaroni and cheese. he thinks it will evolve its brand. the deal itself is complicated. the late nest a number of partnerships that buffett made with 3g. buffett sings the praises of 3g and its founder, he has never been particularly high on private equity firms in general. check out what he said about private equity. he said in truth, equity is a dirty word for many private equity buyers. what they love is debt because debt is inexpensive, these buyers can pay top dollar. later the business will be resole to a leveraged bu

mary barra's latest move will likely please berkshire hathaway's warren buffett who has vocally opposedson's board ambitions during his recent shareholder discussion and letter. shares of gm jumping following the news, currently trading up a full dollar. get to mcdonald's, the dow component getting a modern makeover that a lot of shareholders have been agitating for. the fast food giant has vowed to transform itself into a, quote, modern, progressive burger company following its chilly february numbers. same-store sales numbers tanking 4% in the u.s. in light of growing competition from chipotle, click fillet and, of course -- chick-fil-a and, of course, shake shack. shares of mcdonald's trading higher by about a percent, investors feeling more optimistic about the new ceo, steve easterbrook, who officially takes the reins on march 1st. and tesla running out of charge a bit in china, planning to cut jobs in china as out struggles to gain sizable traction in one of the world's most crucial markets. fourth quarter lost missed analyst estimates, still vowing to stay in china saying, quote,

checking shares of berkshire hathaway since they share bnsf, perhaps unsurprisingly stock not movingthis news. again, a train has derailed, another train carrying crude oil. >> morgan, thank you. >>> still ahead, it's all the rage in the solar seconder. the latest on canadian solar, sent the stock soaring 15% in today's session. we're sitting down with the cfo later on. stay tuned. around the world, to actively uncover, discuss and debate investment opportunities. which leads to better decisions for our clients. it's a uniquely collaborative approach you won't find anywhere else. put our global active management expertise to work for you. mfs. there is no expertise without collaboration. >>> still ahead on "fast money" mark cuban sounding the alarm on the tech bubble. >>> plus, canadian solar soaring 15% on strong guidance, and plans for a yield co. we'll hear from the company's cfo in an exclusive. >>> later the under the radar commodity play that could see big gains this year. >>> first, billionaire investor mark cuban warning investors there's a tech bubble and bigger than the one