Stock Market News: Berkshire Hathaway To Acquire Burlington Northern; UBS Reports Fourth Straight Quarterly Loss

• Deal-making activity heated up with the mega-deal announcement from Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) of its plans to acquire Burlington Northern (BNI) for $100 per share in a deal valued at approximately $44 billion, the largest in Berkshire history
• Stanley Works (SWK) announced plans to purchase Black & Decker (BDK) in a deal valued at $4.5 billion
• Denbury Resources (DNR) announced plans to acquire Encore Acquisition (EAC) in a cash and stock deal valued at $3.2 billion
• Ford (F) said it is planning to raise $2 billion through the sale of senior convertible notes due 2016, and $1 billion through common shares sold in private deals
• UBS (UBS) noted “we do not expect an immediate recovery in client net new monthly flows,” as it reported its fourth straight quarterly loss. The third quarter loss of $552.4 million was larger than anticipated
• Morgan Stanley (MS) downgraded US semiconductor shares to “cautious” warning the industry is now in the final stages of the semiconductor cycle. Intel’s (INTC) rating was lowered to “equalweight” from “overweight,” along with shares of Altera (ALTR), Linear Tech (LLTC), Xilinx (XLNX) and Maxim (MXIM)
• During yesterday’s session Citigroup’s (C) analyst slashed its rating on Research in Motion (RIMM) to “sell” from “buy,” also downgrading Palm (PALM) to “sell” from “hold.” Meanwhile, the firm upgraded Motorola (MOT) shares to “buy” from “hold,” noting positive surprises likely from new phone offerings based on Google’s (GOOG) Android operating system
• Archer Daniels Midland (ADM-A) reported fiscal first quarter earnings of 77 cents per share on sales of $14.9 billion. The company said, “Looking ahead, we see demand improving in some key markets, and we have the assets and acumen to capture value as the global economy resets”
• American Tower (AMT) reported inline third quarter earnings of 17 cents a share on revenues of $444.10 million. The firm backed its 2009 guidance

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Comment by joe johnson

2009-11-03 22:02:07

Just when you think you know a guy…Warren is again more than meets the eye…but, I did not expect Sir Top’em Hat envy!!!!….why else would a value guy pay full price when doing this risky of a purchase….paid almost 20 times next years earnings…about 1.6 billion in estimated profits (very leveraged profits I might add)..this however does add $1,000 to the BRK estimate for next year…Like I always “if you can’s make the earnings…buy the earnings….Cisco has been doing it for years….so why not Buffet…But all that debt????employees???and all that Pension expense….and Health insurance cost…wait a minute..does he know something we don’t about heath care……????

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