Warren Buffett must have thought the questions at his annual shareholders meeting were too easy. He sought out a “bear” to add to the panel of questioners for this May’s meeting.
Douglas A. Kass was quickly selected for the role. He is the president of Seabreeze Partners Management Inc. and a regular guest on CNBC. Read about how Kass learned of his role in the Wall Street Journal blog.
The Omaha World Herald’s weekly column on Buffett, Warren Watch, also had some info on Kass. But my favorite tidbit of info in this week’s column was about how Warren Buffett tried to beat Condoleeza Rice’s record when it came to signing books. Think you could do 500 books in an hour? Maybe only if you don’t have a middle initial. Read the store on the Omaha World Herald’s website.
If you have a burning question for Warren Buffett (or Charlie Munger), you had better get your questions in quickly. At least a third of the questions asked during the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting will be coming from those submitted by shareholders to three financial journalists. Mr. Buffett has requested that you email your questions to those journalists ahead of time. They are:
Each journalist will choose about a dozen questions they deem the most interesting and important. Mr. Buffett also says to let the journalists know if you want your name mentioned if they choose your question.
Audience members will have a chance to ask questions as well. A drawing will be held at 8:15am at each of the 13 microphones. And there is apparently a better chance at some microphones than others! Read this article from the Wall Street Journal about how one group gamed the system last year.
Mr. Buffett has promised Fidelity won’t be able to do it again this year. He also added a panel of three financial analysts to ask Berkshire-specific questions. The analysts are Cliff Gallant of KBW, Jay Gelb of Barclays Capital and Gary Ransom of Dowling and Partners.
If you plan on visiting the Qwest Center today for the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders’ meeting, you should definitely make a swing down through Berkyville (the exhibit hall). I know I mentioned it before, but these deals are too good not to bring to your attention again.
Remember, they’re good only at the Borsheims Booth at the Qwest Center today.
Record Sales Anticipated from Buffett, Borsheims Booth
The addition of Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett to Borsheims’ expert sales staff is expected to be a highlight of this year’s Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders’ weekend. Mr. Buffett, who sold shoes at J.C. Penney’s 63 years ago, expects to prove himself as a “hotshot salesman” and is encouraging shareholders to come, buy and “make me look good.”
Buffett’s sales won’t be the only boost to Borsheims sales during this year’s shareholder weekend. For the first time, Borsheims is taking jewelry to its booth at the Qwest Center exhibition hall to sell during the annual meeting Saturday. The jewelry is available at a steep discount and only at the Qwest Center during the April 30 meeting. The jewelry includes diamond earrings, pearl necklaces, watches and more. An example of the discount? A diamond anniversary band valued at $825 will sell at the Qwest Center for $405.
Borsheims is excited to host the large crowds both at Borsheims and the Qwest Center. Here are a few guidelines to help shareholders navigate the crowds:
Any Berkshire Hathaway shareholder will have the opportunity to purchase from Mr. Buffett, but time and space constraints will dictate how many shareholders will get in.
Berkshire Hathaway shareholders hoping to purchase from Mr. Buffett should be in the store and shopping around 1pm on Sunday, May 1.
The Borsheims Booth Deals will be available ONLY at the Qwest Center and ONLY on Saturday.
A complete list of the Borsheims Booth Deals is available at borsheimsbrk.com.
As in the past, Borsheims shareholder pricing begins in store today and runs through Saturday, May 7. Shareholders can take advantage of the discounts on jewelry, watches and gifts at any time over the next two weeks.
Since becoming a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary 21 years ago, Borsheims has been proud to host shareholders during the annual meeting. This year, shareholders will be welcomed to Borsheims for an exclusive cocktail reception on Friday, April 29, from 6 pm – 9 pm. They’ll also be treated to a shareholder-only shopping day on Sunday, May 1, from 9 am to 4 pm.
For more information about Borsheims or Berkshire Hathaway shareholders’ weekend, contact Trisha Meuret at tmeuret1@gmail or (402)658-0017 or Adrienne Fay at (402)341-0900 or adriennefay@borsheims.com..com
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NOTES FOR MEDIA:
Media members will be allowed to document Mr. Buffett’s sales from a distance.
Pool cameras (both still and video) will provide images from up close.
For more information, contact Trisha Meuret at tmeuret1@gmail.com or (402)658-0017.
For the first time, Borsheims will be selling jewelry from its booth at the Qwest Center during the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders’ meeting. Borsheims has always joined other Berkshire Hathaway subsidiaries in the exhibition hall during the meeting, but has sold Berkshire Hathaway memorabilia. This year, in addition to the memorabilia, Borsheims is offering amazing deals on several jewelry box staples.
Here’s a list of what you can find at the Qwest Center Saturday. Bring your wallets and plan accordingly!
It happens every year. Berkshire Hathaway shareholders come to Omaha to attend the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders’ meeting, visit the exhibition hall at the Qwest Center and end up buying more than they can carry home with them.
Well fret no more, people. Borsheims has the solution right inside its booth at the Qwest Center. It’s called the RuMe bag:
The bag rolls up into a tiny size to fit in your pocket, purse or briefcase. Then, when you need it (like after you’ve purchased armloads of Berkshire Hathaway-related products), just unroll it and go. You can fit a lot of goodies into the 15.5″ bag. But don’t try to take the Dilly bars home in the bag. They melt and MUST be eaten immediately!
Have you spent the past year guessing how Warren Buffett or Charlie Munger would answer your questions? All the while, your friends have had the answer in the palms of their hands?
You must have been one of the unlucky hundreds who didn’t get their hands on a Magic Answer Ball during last year’s Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders’ meeting. Borsheims sold out of them quickly, but this year ordered more. So now you can stop waiting to make all your big life decisions until the answer ball tells you to “Buy Now,” “Diversify,” or the always popular “I have nothing to add.” Buy now online if you’re worried about them selling out again, or try your luck at Borsheims or the Qwest Center.
We also reordered the train banks after a huge demand for them last year. Find details here.
Just a reminder of how the question and answer session at the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders’ meeting works. Here is the section straight from Warren Buffett and the folks at Berkshire Hathaway headquarters:
Financial journalists from organizations representing newspapers, magazines and television will participate in the question-and-answer period, asking Charlie and me questions that shareholders have submitted by email. The journalists and their email addresses are: Carol Loomis, of Fortune, who may be emailed at cloomis@fortunemail.com; Becky Quick, of CNBC, at BerkshireQuestions@cnbc.com; and Andrew Ross Sorkin, of the New York Times, at arsorkin@nytimes.com. From the questions submitted, each journalist will choose the dozen or so he or she decides are the most interesting and important. (In your email, let the journalist know if you would like your name mentioned if your question is selected.)
So, if you want to submit a question via email, go right ahead. There will also be 13 microphones set up at the Qwest Center for shareholders to ask questions, but there is always quite a line so be prepared to wait!
That’s like asking if the sky is blue. Judging by the food we go through at Borsheims during the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders weekend, I’m going with a resounding ‘yes’. And now I’m hungry, too.
That’s because I’ve been updating our page on Where to Eat in Omaha. Spending an hour looking at all the delicious restaurants we have in Omaha has me in the mood for some serious eating. The page needed updating because of a fabulous new development in town, Midtown Crossing. It’s added 7 restaurants in a 4-block area within the past year. And they’re good.
Our established restaurants are great, too! As I was entering the websites of the restaurants, I knew exactly what I would order right now from each of them. Asiago and artichoke dip = Upstream. Mac and cheese = Marks. Twisted Cork Burger = Twisted Cork. Hotel Cali roll = Blue. Chicken Enchilada = Jams. Think I eat out too much?
We divided up the page into steakhouses (of course), Old Market area, and then the rest of the city. That’s usually what out-of-towners want to know. Local shareholders should find the page useful, too… since it has websites, cuisines, and phone numbers of many of the great restaurants in town.
And now I’m headed to raid the kitchen and try to satisfy this hunger! What are you looking forward to eating this year?
