The Master of Money
http://www.tnr.com/story_print.html?id=12ef5554-1023-4be9-ad93-681003b280ef

"There has never really been a bad time in the last fifty years to be Warren Buffett, but just now would seem to be less favorable than most. If Buffett still measures his life by the book value per share of Berkshire Hathaway, then for the first time in forty years he must feel like a wasting asset. His share price is still off more than 40 percent from its highs, underperforming even the S&P 500. He railed against derivatives as weapons of mass destruction, and now turns out to have been sitting on a $68 billion pile of credit default swaps and exotic put options on various stock market indexes. And having vowed never again to become entangled in a big Wall Street investment bank, he has gone and sunk $10 billion into Goldman Sachs, a virtual re-enactment of his investment in Salomon Brothers--cash for reputation. The difference this time is that he has gotten himself a sweeter deal than not merely ordinary shareholders, but also the U.S. Treasury."

review by michael lewis of Snowball. a biography of Warren Buffet

Article on Warren Buffet.

Wang about the company name. It's been reported that BYD stands for "Build your dreams,"

Warren Buffett is predicting all cars will be electric by 2030. He has invested substantially in Build Your Dreams. BYD has started with deployment of hybrids in China, and plans to come into the U.S. with the totally electric BYD e6.

BYD

The company itself is frugal. Until recently, executives always flew coach. ... This attention to costs is one reason that BYD has made money consistently even as it has expanded into new businesses. Each of BYD's business units - batteries, mobile-phone components, and autos - was profitable in 2008, albeit on a small scale. Overall, net profits were around $187 million. BYD, which is traded on the Hong Kong exchange, has a market value of about $3.8 billion. That's less than Ford (F, Fortune 500) ($7 billion at the beginning of April), but more than General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) ($1.3 billion). Near the end of our conversation, I ask Wang about the company name. It's been reported that BYD stands for "Build your dreams," but he says he added that as the company motto only later. Others say that as Motorola, Apple, and Berkshire Hathaway have made their way to Shenzhen, the name has taken on yet another meaning: Bring your dollars

A history and analysis of electric car company BYD and how it will compete with bigger carmakers.

edan in China, topping well-known brands like the Volkswagen Jetta and Toyota (TM) Corolla. BYD has also begun selling a plug-in electric car with a backup gasoline engine, a move putting it ahead of GM, Nissan, and Toyota. BYD's plug-in, called the F3DM (for "dual mode"), goes farther on a single charge - 62 miles - than other electric vehicles and sells for about $22,000, less than the plug-in Prius and much-hyped Chevy Volt are expected to cost when they hit the market in late 2010. Put simply, this little-known upstart has accelerated ahead of its much bigger rivals in the race to build an affordable electric car. Today BYD employs 130,000 people in 11 factories, eight in China and one each in India, Hungary, and Romani

Buy American. I Am.

Too often, a vast collection of possessions ends up possessing its owner. The asset I most value, aside from health, is interesting, diverse, and long-standing friends. My wealth has come from a combination of living in America, some lucky genes, and compound interest. Both my children and I won what I call the ovarian lottery.

Warren Buffett has committed to giving away 99% of his wealth. Now, he explains his thinking in this remarkable op-ed.

"Fate's distribution of long straws is wildly capricious." - Warren Buffett / I have huge respect for this man. http://bit.ly/dlgWg4