If you want to tell your story around the world, make sure you communicate.
That's the idea behind hundreds of Chinese-language fliers that Nebraska officials handed out to business owners and others during their recent trade mission to Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai, China.
Alongside a color image of Warren Buffett, the flier tells in Chinese why Buffett chose to work and live in Nebraska, how he started his investment company here and how successful it has been.
The title, as translated by Pingan Huang of the Confucius Institute at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln:
?To choose Nebraska to live and work is a decision no easier to make.?
The overall message is that long-term investments in Nebraska succeed, said Joe Chapuran, international development manager for the Nebraska Department of Economic Development. ?It seems to be almost the No. 1 piece of marketing material we have.?
International business people often are surprised that Buffett lives and works in Omaha, Chapuran said, so the flier attracts attention and resonates with business owners who are deciding where to make investments.
Besides contact information for the department and ?Berkshire Hathaway,? the poster uses only three other words in English ? a description of Buffett's investment philosophy: ?Buy and Hold.?
Giving Pledge
The Giving Pledge has 11 more signers, bringing the total to 92 wealthy individuals or families who have committed to giving away at least half of their money to charity.
The pledge, started in 2010 by Buffett and fellow philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates, aims at billionaires and near-billionaires. Besides their pledges of support for nonprofits, signers are invited to occasional get-togethers to compare notes about charitable giving.
One of the new signers is Canadian native Charles R. Bronfman, the former chairman of Seagram Co., who is worth $2?billion. He wrote for the pledge's website that he began raising money for the United Jewish Appeal when he was 17, collecting 50 cents each from 20 of his friends in a poor Jewish area of Montreal.
?While I knew I could easily pay the 10 dollars myself and claim it came from them, I relished meeting those who were in lesser circumstances and yet still wanted to participate in helping others,? he wrote.
His foundation already has given away $325 million, focusing on education for young Canadians and improving the quality of life in Montreal, New York and Israel. The foundation will close in 2016, he said, although his children have their own foundations and he plans to continue giving on his own.
Other new signers and their companies or products: Manoj Bhargava. 5-hour Energy; Dan and Jennifer Gilbert, Quicken; Reed Hastings and Patty Quillin, Netflix; Peter B. Lewis, Progressive Insurance; Gordon and Betty Moore, Intel; Jonathan M. Nelson, Providence Equity; Jorge M. and Darlene Perez, the Related Group; Claire and Leonard Tow, New Century Holdings; Albert Lee Ueltschi, FlightSafety International; and Dr. Romesh and Kathleen Wadhwani, Symphony Technology Group.
Ueltschi, whose company is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, wrote: ?I have been lucky enough to live in the best country in the world. If I didn't have ten bucks in the bank, I would still feel this way.?
Enamored with flying as a youth, he started a hamburger stand called ?Kitty Hawk? to pay for flying lessons and was an airline pilot before starting his flight training business.
?I have never seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul trailer,? he wrote. ?You can't take it with you.?
Class B shares
As Berkshire's stock price continues to advance, Zacks Investment Research upgraded its recommendation and estimated that the company's Class B shares could reach $107 each within six months. The price closed last week at $89.54, its highest closing price since $93 on Oct. 3, 2008.
Zacks' report praised Berkshire's operating divisions and business model but said uncertainty over the successor to Buffett as chairman and CEO is ?the biggest matter of concern for the shareholders.?
Although Buffett has said his successor is well-qualified and ready, ?there is an air of uncertainty about the performance of the company under the new CEO,? the stock research company said. ?In our view, it would be a very difficult job for any new management to be able to make the company perform like it did under Buffett and (Berkshire Vice Chairman Charlie) Munger.?
Potential buyer
Berkshire may be a potential buyer of the U.S. life insurance division of Italian insurance company Assicurazioni Generali SpA, according to SNL Insurance Daily, quoting a report by the Italian publication Il Sole 24 Ore.
The industry newsletter said other possible buyers are Swiss Reinsurance Co. Ltd., Munich Re Group, Hannover Re Group and ACE Ltd., with a price between $1 billion and $1.3 billion.
Generali also is selling its Swiss division, Banca della Svizzera Italiana.
World-Herald staff writer Paul Goodsell contributed to this report.
The Omaha World-Herald Co. is owned by Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1080, steve.jordon@owh.com
twitter.com/buffettOWH
***
Have a question for Steve Jordon about the Oracle of Omaha? Submit your questions now, then join Steve at 11:30 on Tuesday to discuss the latest news about Warren Buffett.
Find more of The World-Herald's coverage of Warren Buffett here.
Source: http://www.omaha.com/article/20120923/MONEY/709239943
rick santorum daughter gainesville 2012 royal rumble the grey machine gun kelly saul alinsky annapolis
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.