Berkshire Hathaway in record profit

The investment firm run by the US billionaire Warren Buffett has reported a record profit for 2013. Berkshire Hathaway made $19.5bn (£11.6bn) last year, up from $14.8bn (£8.8bn) in 2012. "On the operating front, just about everything turned out well for us last year - in some cases very well," Mr Buffett wrote to shareholders. However it underperformed the S&P 500 share index for the fifth year in a row. The growth in the company's book value - that is the company's assets minus its liabilities and Mr Buffett's preferred measure of Berkshire's performance - was 18.2% in 2013, while the S&P 500 rose 32.4%. But Mr Buffett said that was to be expected when the S&P performed well. "We expect to fall short... in years when the market is strong - as we did in 2013. "We have underperformed in 10 of our 49 years, with all but one of our shortfalls occurring when the S&P gain exceeded 15%." He added that the fund had outperformed the stock market between 2007 and 2013 and that through a full six year cycle he expected to do that again. "If we fail to do so, we will not have earned our pay," he wrote. Berkshire Hathaway increased its holding in Coca-Cola Mr Buffett, ranked fourth on the Forbes rich list, pointed to a strong performance in the firm's insurance, rail and energy businesses for the increase in profit. (BBC, 2014/3/2)

Russian's president set to send military troops into Ukraine

The Russian parliament's upper house unanimously approved Saturday a request by President Vladimir Putin to send military troops into Ukraine, shortly after the Crimean peninsula's pro-Kremlin prime minister appealed to the Kremlin for military muscle.

 

Putin said ethnic Russians in Crimea and the personnel of a Russian military base needed to be protected for the “normalization of the political situation” in Ukraine. But the Russian president's official request for troops seemed to be merely a formality as Moscow appeared to solidify its iron grip on Crimea.

 

Armed troops believed to be Russian had already seized control of much of the strategic peninsula Friday and Saturday, taking over key airports and communications centers across the region. By Saturday they had seized an airfield used for military transports, and Ukraine moved to close its airspace Saturday after reports suggested at least eight Russian troop transport planes had touched ground in the Crimea. (TIME, 2014.3.2)

 

土曜日にロシア議会は、プーチン大統領によるウクライナへの軍隊派遣の計画を、全会一致で承認しました。ただ、そもそも金曜日と土曜日のうちに、戦略的に重要なウクライナ半島は、ロシア軍によって制圧されていましたので、ロシア議会はこれを追認したことになります。プーチン大統領はロシア軍を、ウクライナの政治的正常化までの間、クリミアに置くと発言していますが、その意図はむしろ、「 Iron Grip on Crimea 」を確固なものにすることであると、ＴＩＭＥは伝えています。

US GDP growth rate revised down

The US economy grew at a much slower rate from October to December than originally predicted, the US Commerce Department said. US gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annualised rate of 2.4% in the fourth quarter of 2013, down from an initial estimate of 3.2%. The revision is down to weaker than expected consumer spending.Severe winter weather in the US is expected to slow growth further in the current quarter.

 

The Commerce Department initially predicted consumer spending had expanded by 3.3%, but spending is now estimated to have grown at a 2.6% annual rate. Consumer spending accounts for roughly 70% of US economic activity. Bad winter weather has cut into vehicle sales, among other purchases.

 

Despite the revised GDP estimate, US growth should be regarded as strong, the financial information firm Markit said. "The details of the report suggest that investment is growing at an increased rate and underlying demand continued to expand at a reassuringly robust rate, given the headwinds during the closing months of 2013," said Markit chief economist Chris Williamson.

 

For all of 2013, the economy grew at 1.9%. (BBC NEWS 2014.2.28)

Warns Russia over Ukrain

US President Barack Obama has warned Russia there will be "costs" for any military intervention in Ukraine. He said he was deeply concerned by reports of Russian military movements inside the country. Ukraine's acting president has accused Russia of deploying troops to Crimea and trying to provoke Kiev into "armed conflict". Russia's UN ambassador said any troop movements in Crimea were within an existing arrangement with Ukraine. Speaking from the White House, President Obama commended Ukraine's interim government for its "restraint".  "Any violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity would be deeply destabilising, which is not in the interests of Ukraine, Russia or Europe," he said.  "It would represent a profound interference in matters that must be determined by the Ukrainian people. It would be a clear violation of Russia's commitment to respect the independence and sovereignty and borders of Ukraine - and of international laws." He added: "Just days after the world came to Russia for the Olympic games, it would invite the condemnation of nations around the world. And, indeed, the United States will stand with the international community in affirming that there will be costs for any military intervention in Ukraine." (BBC NEWS 2014.3.1)

Commercial Space Travel

Commercial space travel is almost here. For real this time. Sometime in 2014, Virgin Galactic will be able to fly 100 kilometers into the sky and put you in near-zero gravity for a few minutes. The price tag: $250,000. Already Angelina Jolie, Ashton Kutcher, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, and Richard Branson, the company's eccentric billionaire founder, have lined up with 600 other people to get on flights. Booking a flight on rival Xcor Aerospace will cost roughly $100,000, the company says. Blue Origin, the space company launched by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, says it's close behind but hasn't put out a price list just yet.  (Bloomberg Businessweek December 2 - December 8, 2013 Page 39)