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To: pallmer who wrote (4015)	12/13/2002 1:43:41 PM
From: pallmer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29600

-- =DJ Buffett Effect? Coke's New Policy Follows Warren's Stance -- By Brian Steinberg Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Something new at Coca-Cola Co. (KO) is something long familiar to investors in Washington Post Co. (WPO). Atlanta's Coke said Friday that it would no longer update earnings guidance for investors, because, as Coca-Cola Chairman and Chief Executive Douglas Daft said in a statement, "establishing short-term guidance prevents a more meaningful focus on the strategic initiatives that a Company is taking to build its business and succeed over the long-run." Such talk may be anathema to the average investor, who buys and sells based on any loose comment about quarter-by-quarter earnings that drops from an executive's lips. Market-watchers involved with Washington Post have heard talk similar to Daft's come from the mouth of Post Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Donald Graham for many years. Perhaps it is no coincidence that Coke and Washington Post share a common investor: Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKA BRKB). Buffett is well known for his ideas about managing for the long term, for a decade from now rather than for a quarter from now. When companies focus too much on meeting numbers for a three-month period, the philosophy holds, they wander too far away from what should be a primary management goal: Growing the company slowly and steadily for years to come. "Warren Buffett is no shrinking violet," said Patrick McGurn, a special counsel to Institutional Shareholder Services, a corporate-governance advisor to large shareholders. Still, McGurn noted, "This isn't being dictated by Warren, although he can be very persuasive." No doubt, he added, "there is definitely some lobbying by Buffett," but when it comes to Coke, "a firm decision is being made within the company to move in this direction." Coke and Washington Post also follow another interesting policy, that of expensing stock options. Another Berkshire holding, razor-blades-and-batteries concern Gillette Co. (G), also subscribes to that philosophy, and stopped offering earnings guidance in January 2001. Donald Graham, Washington Post's top executive, regularly reminds investors that his company, the force behind the Washington Post newspaper and Newsweek magazine, eschews managing itself to meet earnings expectations each quarter. Instead, he invites investors with a long-term focus to take a look at his company's shares. Did Buffett have a hand in Coke's decision? A person answering the phone in the legendary billionaire investor's office in Omaha, Neb., Friday said he was "on the road," and probably would not be available for immediate comment. At Coke, the board of directors "considered it, discussed it and made this decision," said a spokeswoman for the beverage company. Of course, Buffett remains an active member of the board. Nevertheless, said McGurn, "there has to be buy-in by management before" such policies are put into effect. Buffett "has been urging Coke for a long time to take charges for their stock options," he said, "but it wasn't until there was substantial buy-in to the concept by Doug Daft and the other members of the board that they took action." - By Brian Steinberg, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5218, brian.steinberg@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires 12-13-02 1343ET- - 01 43 PM EST 12-13-02 Symbols: US;BRKA US;BRK US;G US;KO US;WPO CH;KO DE;CCC GB;CCA PE;KO XE;KO 13-Dec-2002 18:43:00 GMT Source DJ - Dow Jones