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To: Benkea who wrote (50210)	5/10/2000 5:15:00 PM
From: pater tenebrarum	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 99985

i'm not Bobby, but i notice i always get an error message on askresearch chart links. any idea why that is the case?

To: Benkea who wrote (50210)	5/10/2000 6:07:00 PM
From: HairBall	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 99985

Benkea: What do you trade 1000 to 5000 shares of BRK.A at a time...<g> Regards, LG

To: Benkea who wrote (50210)	5/10/2000 9:40:00 PM
From: ted birnbaum	Respond to of 99985

Ive seen lots of candles, thats one I would be sleeping soundly on if i was short right at the close on , those long stick (is that a dragonfly) doji the bottom is almost always restested and not that often held.

To: Benkea who wrote (50210)	5/14/2000 2:56:00 PM
From: UnBelievable	Respond to of 99985

Berkshire Hathaway insurance units post losses in first quarter DOW JONES NEWSWIRES OMAHA, Neb., May 14 ? Despite gains in net income, Berkshire Hathaway Inc.?s primary insurance operations posted significant losses in the first quarter and the company warned Saturday that it expects those losses to continue. OMAHA, NEB.-BASED Berkshire Hathaway, the investment vehicle controlled by billionaire Warren Buffett, Friday reported net income of $807 million, or $531 a share, compared with $541 million, or $356 a share, a year earlier. Excluding investment gains, core earnings would have come to $354 million, or $233 a share, compared with $294 million, or $194 a share, in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue rose 18.8%, to $6.47 billion from $5.44 billion. In the quarterly report posted on the company?s Web site Saturday, Berkshire Hathaway noted that the company achieved an overall increase in earnings even though its Geico auto insurance operation posted an $86 million pretax loss, while the company?s General Re Corp. the largest U.S. reinsurer posted a $273 million pretax loss. Berkshire Hathaway said earned premiums at Geico one of the nation's largest auto insurers increased 18.8% to $1.3 billion from $1.1 billion. But first-quarter losses and loss adjustment expenses rose 26.4% over 1999. The company said the loss ratio, which measures the portion of premiums earned that is paid or reserved for claims and claim handling expenses, was 86.5% in the first quarter compared to 81.3% a year ago. The loss ratio reflects higher frequency and severity of auto physical damage and personal-injury protection losses, the company said, noting it didn?t anticipate the frequency and severity of the losses. Geico also forecast higher unit costs in acquiring new business, as it spends more on advertising but finds a lower sales-success rate. Consequently, ongoing underwriting losses are anticipated throughout 2000, the company said. General Re's $273 million underwriting loss, double the loss in the year-earlier quarter, underscores the generally difficult conditions in the reinsurance industry, the company said. General Re's overall underwriting results .. were unsatisfactory and reflected the effects of inadequate rates charged in recent years, as well as higher international catastrophe and large property losses, the company said. Further, the company said, underwriting results are likely to remain unsatisfactory during the remainder of 2000. General Re said earlier this month that it had decided to keep its General Re Financial Products unit. In February, General Re hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to study strategic alternatives for the business, such as selling or finding a joint-venture partner. General Re Financial Products acts as a dealer in specialized financial instruments such as credit derivatives and interest-rate swaps which banks, insurers and other companies use to hedge their exposure to risk. The unit has been considered a potential candidate for divestiture ever since Warren Berkshire Hathaway acquired General Re in a $16.9 billion stock transaction as part of a strategy to expand its core insurance business. Copyright ¸ 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.