Berkshire

• Revenues for the first quarter of 2023 were $59.9 million compared with $69.6 million in the first quarter of 2022.
• Distribution fees from our equity mutual funds and other income were $4.9 million during the first quarter of 2023 and $5.8 million in the prior year quarter.
• Mark-to-market investment gains were $2.2 million in the first quarter of 2023 versus losses of $2.6 million in the first quarter of 2022.
• From April 1, 2023, to May 9, 2023, the Company has purchased 34,767 shares at an average price of $19.10 per share.

• Approximately $4.4 billion was used to purchase shares of Class A and Class B common stock during the first quarter of 2023.
• On March 31, 2023, there were 1,450,152 Class A equivalent shares outstanding.
• At March 31, 2023, insurance float (the net liabilities we assume under insurance contracts) was approximately $165 billion, an increase of approximately $1 billion since yearend 2022.
• In addition to the GAAP presentations of net earnings, Berkshire shows operating earnings defined as net earnings exclusive of investment and derivative gains (losses) and impairments of goodwill and intangible assets.

• These are huge contests, covering 237 councils, of which 151 are holding all-out elections, with every seat up for grabs.
• In the other 86, one-third of the seats are being fought.
• The Conservatives have most to lose since the poll includes “shire” councils in rural locations, which are traditionally fertile Tory territory.

What does a good night look like?

• Theresa May was prime minister and was battling to get her Brexit deal through parliament after losing her majority in an ill-fated election two years previously.
• Starmer needs a swing the size of Tony Blair’s in 1997 to win an outright majority in the next general election.
• For the Conservatives, keeping losses well below 700 seats would be a triumph of sorts, an indication Rishi Sunak is still in the game.

Which are the regions to look out for?

• Labour could regain northern councils that had been lost to no overall control in places where the party has also lost parliamentary seats in recent years.
• This could indicate a fight back in the areas that delivered such a devastating loss for Labour in the last general election.
• Look out for Dacorum, West Berkshire and East Cambridgeshire councils which could all fall to Ed Davey’s party.

Will voter ID change things?

• The Electoral Reform Society thinks it has been introduced to solve a problem of impersonation that does not exist.
• Take up for voter authority certificates, available to those not holding appropriate ID, has been low.
• That’s unless you think bins, burials, green spaces, housing, leisure facilities, libraries, planning, schools and social services are all trivial.

• (BRK.A; BRK.B) – On December 14, 2007, an indirect subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. acquired the equity of Whittaker, Clark & Daniels, Inc., Brilliant National Services, Inc., L.A. Terminals, Inc., and Soco West, Inc.
• These companies had ceased their operations in 2004 and sold all their operating assets prior to the acquisition, though they continued to face liabilities arising from asbestos, talc and environmental claims.
• No Berkshire company ever operated, or had any involvement in, the manufacturing and chemical operations that gave rise to the companies’ liabilities, and no Berkshire insurer issued it any insurance in connection with the acquisition.
• On April 26, 2023, these companies filed voluntary petitions under chapter 11 of bankruptcy code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey.