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Non-Tech : Berkshire Hathaway Class B -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Richard Forsythe who wrote (917)	8/9/1999 10:31:00 AM
From: Benkea	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1652

Richard: "I think there's one factor you've missed from your analysis -- the acquisition of General Re. The annual report did not really address this because the deal closed in December 98." While the annual didn't spend too much time on the addition to BRK of GRN, Buffett's comment re: the 48.3% increase in book was largely because of GRN. Therefore, I would think since GRN was in by year end 1998, it was part of the calculation. "The report due this Friday is really the first opportunity to assess the impact of Gen Re, and it will be interesting to see how things are going." I agree that it will be interesting to see. However, one of the most touted benefits of the merger was the ability to now manage for the long-term instead of quarterly for Wall Street. Thus, I am not sure a quarter or two really gives us that much insight into the long-term progress of GRN. "Also, Buffets idea of "reasonable" valuation is probably a lot lower than the market's and so in the current market one might expect a higher multiple--i.e. the current price is something of a bargain compared to other stocks available today." I agree that the Buffett remarks are no doubt true to form - conservative. This is my margin of safety :)