Buffett — February 22, 2025

Locator: 48411BUFFETT. 

See disclaimer.

He says he did better than he expected last year. I think BRK-B appreciated about 15% last year; the market overall did about 25%? For me this is incredibly bothersome:

"In 2024, Berkshire did better than I expected though 53% of our 189 operating businesses reported a decline in earnings," Buffett wrote. "We were aided by a predictable large gain in investment income as Treasury Bill yields improved and we substantially increased our holdings of these highly-liquid short-term securities."

And this is why that paragraph is bothersome to me:

BRK is a great selection for those with a diversified large cap portfolio who want to "hedge their bets" and who want to sleep soundly at night. But ...

https://x.com/search?q=Buffett&src=typed_query&f=top

The letter. 

Picking the right 50 out of 500.

I've never understood the lure of an "unmanaged" ETF such as the "SPDR" vs a managed portfolio of the "top" 10% of thereabouts. Peter Lynch had a similar strategy.

The AI summary.

One word: incredible.

Two words: absolutely incredible.

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An Evening With Arianna And Sophia

Update: KMI, Hiland, Outrigger -- February 22, 2025

Locator: 48410PIPELINES.

"Outrigger" has been mentioned on the blog several times. One can do a "word search" regarding "Outrigger."

Pipelines are tracked here.

From January 14, 2025, an RBN Energy blog:

Energy deal in the Bakken announced: link here. 

Kinder Morgan Inc (KMI) / Hiland Partners Holdings LLC to acquire Outrigger Energy II LLC in North Dakota; $640 million. Outrigger has been mentioned numerous times on the blog. Includes a natural gas processing plant near Williston.  

Tonight, a reader -- thank you very much, it's been a long time since I've heard from you -- updates this story. From the reader: 

Kinder Morgan, Inc. has announced that its subsidiary, Hiland Partners Holdings LLC, closed on its previously announced US$640 million acquisition of a natural gas gathering and processing system in North Dakota from Outrigger Energy II LLC.

The acquisition includes a 270 million ft³/d processing facility and a 104 mile, large-diameter, high-pressure rich gas gathering header pipeline with 350 million ft³/d of capacity connecting supplies from the Williston Basin area to high-demand markets. The gathering and processing system is backed by long-term contracts with commitments from major customers in the basin.

“We are pleased to have completed this strategic acquisition and to start integrating these assets with our existing Hiland gas footprint,” said KMI Natural Gas Midstream President Tom Dender. “This acquisition expands our transportation and processing services, allowing us to meet the growing needs of our customers.”

KMI expects the acquisition to be immediately accretive to its shareholders, with a 2025 Adjusted EBITDA multiple of approximately 8 times on a full-year basis.

Adjusted EBITDA does not include approximately US$20 million of expected cash payments in 2025 that receive deferred revenue recognition.

With this transaction, KMI expects to reduce future capital expenditures needed to accommodate the growth of its existing Bakken customers.

The reader provided this link: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/20022025/kinder-morgan-closes-on-us640-million-acquisition-of-a-natural-gas-gathering-and-processing-system-from-outrigger-energy-ii/. 

If need I'll clean up this post over the weekend, but wanted to get this out ASAP.

Week 8: February 18, 2025 -- February 24, 2025

Locator: 48409TOPSECRETS.

Geoff Simon's quick connects. 

Buffett's annual letter.

Top stories:

• President Trump
  

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Top Stories

Geoff Simon's quick connects.

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The First 100 Days
January 20, 2025 - April 30, 2025

Fourth Week Of President Trump's Presidency

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The Top Stories

Top story of the week:

• President Trump: clearly ready to set a new world order
  
• DOGE website is live: https://doge.gov/ (note "gov" not com).
  

Top international non-energy story:

• tariffs
• nothing new
  
• deportations continue
• illegal cross-border crossings come "to a stop"
• no change from last week: all within three weeks of Trump being sworn into office
• Trump opponents are upset with the marked success of the program
  

Top international energy story:

• 
  

Top national non-energy story:

• President Trump
• Ukraine: bilateral peace talks begin -- Russia and US
• Ukraine / Zelenskyy won't be at the table
• Trump has a 100-day self-imposed deadline for big announcement on Ukraine (e.g., ceasefire) -- April 29, 2025
• it's obvious how Trump feels about Zelenskyy at this point
  
• Saudi Arabia is not happy with Trump's initiative on Gaza
  
• Saudi Arabia seems interested in advancing an initiative for Gaza other than Trump's
  
• no update from last week: all files on JFK, RFK, Jr., and MLK, Jr., to be opened with one exception:
• apparently the "Epstein list" is on DOJ's desk for review prior to sending it to Trump
  
• Tim Cook announces brand new "member of the family" this next week; the iPhone 16e
• trans: men in women's sports
• Maine is the only state that "won't abide" by Trump's EO -- now law of the land
• governor says she will take Trump to court on this one
• Trump welcomes the opportunity
  

Top national energy story:

• no update from last week:
• Trump "unleashes" energy; declares "American energy dominance"
• open LNG, oil exploration that Biden had stopped by EO
  

Focus on fracking: current link here. Generally updated late Sunday night.

Top North Dakota non-energy story:

• 
  

Top North Dakota energy story: 

• KMI, Hiland, Outrigger, $640-million deal closes.