Reuters: Top News

Buffett defends investments in stocks, which fueled record Berkshire profit (Sat, 22 Feb 2020)
Warren Buffett on Saturday defended Berkshire Hathaway Inc's decision to invest heavily in the stocks of companies such as Apple Inc, while giving new details about how Berkshire Hathaway is prepared for his death in an annual letter to shareholders posted on the company's website.
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WarnerMedia to reunite 'Friends' in HBO Max special (Sat, 22 Feb 2020)
WarnerMedia is reuniting its "Friends" cast for an untitled, unscripted special for its upcoming streaming service, HBO Max, the company said on Friday.
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SRN News

Buffett defends investments in stocks, which fueled record Berkshire profit (Sat, 22 Feb 2020)
By Jonathan Stempel and David Randall NEW YORK (Reuters) – Warren Buffett on Saturday defended Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s decision to invest heavily in the stocks of companies such as Apple Inc, while giving new details about how Berkshire Hathaway is prepared for his death in an annual letter to shareholders posted on the company’s website. The letter, which is widely read on Wall Street, came as Berkshire Hathaway posted record full year earnings of $81.42 billion that nearly doubled its previous record from 2017, largely as a result of accounting rule changes that require the company to report paper gains and losses from its stock holdings with net income even if it sells nothing. Despite those gains, Berkshire Hathaway’s stock has underperformed the broad U.S. stock market by gaining 11.7% over the last 12 months, compared with a 20.3% gain in the S&P 500 over the same time. Shares of the company are up 1.3% for the year to date. In his letter, Buffett focused on his company’s investments in the stock of companies such as Apple at a time when the conglomerate has struggled to find whole companies to buy, while also highlighting the growth of its core insurance businesses. Buffett noted that the returns in the insurance businesses were especially strong compared with the low yields on long-term U.S. Treasuries. “What we can say is that if something close to current rates should prevail over the coming decades and if corporate tax rates also remain near the low level businesses now enjoy, it is almost certain that equities will over time perform far better than long-term, fixed-rate debt instruments,” Buffet wrote. The 89-year-old assured that Berkshire is prepared for the eventual departures of himself and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, 96. “Charlie and I long ago entered the urgent zone,” Buffet wrote. “That’s not exactly great news for us. But Berkshire shareholders need not worry: Your company is 100% prepared for our departure.” Buffett gave new details about what will happen to his shares in the company after his death, noting that he expects that it will take 12 to 15 years for his estate to fully liquidate his position in the company. In that time, he wrote, “I myself feel comfortable that Berkshire shares will provide a safe and rewarding investment during the disposal period.” (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and David Randall in New York; Editing by Frances Kerry and Franklin Paul) Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
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Twitter tests labels, community moderation for lies by public figures (Sat, 22 Feb 2020)
(Reuters) – Twitter Inc said on Thursday that it was testing a new community moderation approach that would enable users to identify misleading information posted by politicians and public figures and add brightly colored labels under those tweets. NBC News earlier reported that Twitter company documents showing a mockup of the new approach were accessible on a publicly available website, although it did not identify the site. The company said that the leaked illustrations showed one possible iteration of a new approach to combat misinformation. “We’re exploring a number of ways to address misinformation and provide more context for Tweets on Twitter,” Twitter said in a statement. “This is a design mockup for one option that would involve community feedback. Misinformation is a critical issue and we will be testing many different ways to address it.” A spokesman said the project was in the early stages and not currently staffed. The mockup obtained by NBC News showed a plan to develop a “community reports” feature, which Twitter likened to Wikipedia. Twitter users would earn points and badges for rating “harmfully misleading” content. Twitter and other social media companies are under intense pressure to stem lies and misinformation on their platforms. They have introduced measures in recent months designed to head off interference in the U.S. presidential election in November, although critics say they are insufficient compared to the scale of the problem. Twitter announced in the summer that it would label and de-emphasize tweets that broke its rules but came from important public figures like politicians. But it has not yet done so for any tweets. The company also banned political ads in the fall and said earlier this month that it would apply “false” warning labels to tweets containing synthetic or deceptively edited forms of media and remove any that are likely to cause harm. Democratic presidential contender Mike Bloomberg on Thursday tweeted a video of Wednesday night’s debate edited to make it appear as though other candidates were rendered speechless when he asked if any of them had started businesses. The Twitter spokesman said the company would likely label Bloomberg’s tweet under the new policy on synthetic and deceptively edited media, which is set to come into effect on March 5. (Reporting by Katie Paul in San Francisco and Neha Malara in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Cynthia Osterman) Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
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Reuters: Top News

Buffett defends investments in stocks, which fueled record Berkshire profit (Sat, 22 Feb 2020)
Warren Buffett on Saturday defended Berkshire Hathaway Inc's decision to invest heavily in the stocks of companies such as Apple Inc, while giving new details about how Berkshire Hathaway is prepared for his death in an annual letter to shareholders posted on the company's website.
>> Read more

WarnerMedia to reunite 'Friends' in HBO Max special (Sat, 22 Feb 2020)
WarnerMedia is reuniting its "Friends" cast for an untitled, unscripted special for its upcoming streaming service, HBO Max, the company said on Friday.
>> Read more

Reuters: World News

Ethiopia plans to release interim jet crash report as probe continues (Sat, 22 Feb 2020)
Ethiopia plans to release an interim report into a deadly Boeing 737 MAX crash, which killed 157 passengers and crew, ahead of the first anniversary of the accident next month, according to an official speaking on Saturday.
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Taliban, Afghan forces clash on first day of violence reduction period (Sat, 22 Feb 2020)
Taliban fighters and Afghan security forces clashed in parts of Afghanistan on Saturday, a day after a week-long "reduction in violence" was announced, but the incidents did not spark immediate alarm on either side.
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Audio News – SRN News

SRN Hourly News 02-22-20 – 09:00 AM CST (Sat, 22 Feb 2020)
Top News Stories Feb 22, 2020 – 09:00 AM CST Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
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SRN Hourly News 02-22-20 – 08:00 AM CST (Sat, 22 Feb 2020)
Top News Stories Feb 22, 2020 – 08:00 AM CST Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
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