NetJets CEO Sokol Comments on Housing, Economy - And Berkshire

Ravi Nagarajan submits:It is rare to read about boardroom drama and controversy within the diverse group of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) subsidiaries. Warren Buffett routinely makes a point of his preference to purchase businesses that are already well run and to then leave management alone to continue running the business.

Ravi Nagarajan submits:BYD (BYDDF.PK) has announced a 25 percent reduction for its 2010 sales target due to capacity constraints. The company now expects to sell 600,000 vehicles.

Ravi Nagarajan submits:In a recent interview with The Columbus Dispatch, NetJets Chairman and CEO David Sokol predicts that the company will be profitable this year and no further staffing reduct

Ravi Nagarajan submits: The Island Packet, a newspaper serving the Beaufort and Hilton Head region of South Carolina, has reported that NetJets will close a regional office in Okatie, South Carolina and move most of the operation’s eighty jobs to the company’s headquarters in Columbus, Ohio.

Ravi Nagarajan submits:Warren Buffett is not a proponent of using the concept of “synergies” to justify acquisitions and generally encourages Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) subsidiaries to operate independently. Business unit managers, or “all stars” as Mr.

Ravi Nagarajan submits:Warren Buffett referred to NetJets as “the major problem for Berkshire” (BRK.A) in 2009 when reporting yearly results in his annual letter (.pdf) to shareh

Ravi Nagarajan submits:Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) posted significantly higher operating profits for the third quarter of 2010 mainly due to the contribution of Burlington Northern Santa Fe, which was acquired in February, along with improved results in the company’s diverse collection of economically sensitive businesses which have seen improved conditions this year.