Pretty much all investors are tech investors. Whether you like the space or not, it is almost impossible to avoid owning exposure to the technology sector. More than a few analysts have referred to tech as a utility, as vital to modern everyday life as water, electricity, steel, and oil.For example, of the top 10 holdings of the £60.4 billion iShares Core MSCI World ETF (SWDA) ? the biggest world

21st year of record earnings'Mini-Berkshire' beats targetsPositive start to new yearEnvironment, health and safety technology group Halma (HLMA) reported its 21st year of record revenue and profit and said it had made a 'positive start' to the current financial year.The shares climbed as much as 180p or 8% to £25.35 taking them to the top of the FTSE 100 performance table. QUALITY COMPOUND

This column has no axe to grind with Nvidia (NVDA:NASDAQ) and ? like everyone else ? it continues to be both surprised and impressed by the growth that the semiconductor specialist is generating, thanks to the competitive position it is crafting itself in providing silicon chips that power the data centres that, in turn, drive the large language models that are so important to the development of A

The pilgrimage to Omaha for Berkshire Hathaway?s (BRK-B:NYSE) annual shareholder meeting had a tinge of poignancy this year following the passing of Warren Buffett?s long-term business partner and vice-chair Charlie Munger in November 2023.In memory of the ?abominable no-man?, as Buffett sometimes referred to Munger, the book stands at the meeting which would normally offer several investment book

Warren Buffett is probably the only professional investor who needs no introduction. Over a long and illustrious career stretching back to 1965, he?s produced a mind-boggling 4,384,749% return for investors through his investment vehicle, Berkshire Hathaway. In other words, $100 invested in 1965 would today be worth over $4.3 million. For some context, the same $100 invested in the S&P 500 would n

DANAHER FAST FACTSTicker: DHR:NYSEShare price: $253Market cap: £141.5 billionUS biotechnology, life sciences and diagnostics company Danaher (DHR:NYSE) is one of the most successful companies to list on the New York Stock Exchange that few people outside the US have heard of.This feature peeks under the bonnet to see how the company has achieved its success and explores its prospects.Steven and M

A classic example of a superb business with staying power, The Coca-Cola Company (KO:NYSE) is blessed with iconic brands spearheaded by Coca-Cola or ?Coke?, the world?s most recognised soft drink synonymous with its red cans.Coca-Cola?s brands resonate with consumers around the world, making the New York-listed group?s products the beverage of choice for billions when at home or on the move.Powerf

This year, Apple (AAPL:NASDAQ) shares have fallen nearly 9%. If that doesn?t sound like a big deal, consider that for the world?s second most valuable company it means the loss of something like $230 billion. That?s the equivalent of an entire PepsiCo (PEP:NASDAQ), or Shell (SHEL) ? the UK?s current largest company ? plus a British American Tobacco (BATS) thrown in.On a one-year view, the stock ha

Warren Buffett?s antipathy toward gold as an investment is well known, thanks in part to a speech the Sage of Omaha gave at Harvard in 1998. Buffett acidly asserted that: ?Gold gets dug out of the ground in Africa, or someplace. Then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again and pay people to stand around guarding it. It has no utility. Anyone watching from Mars would be scratching their he

The annual Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B:NYSE) shareholder letter is eagerly awaited by investors looking for insights and clues into Warren Buffett?s next big move.This year?s missive throws a bucket of cold water on the idea of finding businesses to buy which might be ?transformational? for Berkshire, whose market capitalisation is closing in on $1 trillion.?There remain only a handful of companies

Each quarter the analyst community eagerly awaits the publication of the 13F forms by the leading US investment managers.The releases, which have to be published within 45 days of the end of the quarter, are parsed for clues into what these ?star? managers are thinking about the world and about the markets.Unsurprisingly, the quarterly filings by Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B:NYSE), led by legendary i

Few stocks command as much attention as Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B:NYSE), but then few investors are as well known as Warren Buffett and his late business partner Charlie Munger.The pair built a business with a market cap today of $880 billion and an investment portfolio which is as good a representation of the US economy as you are likely to find, from railroads to restaurants and banking to consu

An investor blessed with Nostradamus-like predictive powers who put money to work with Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B:NYSE) in 1964 and held the shares until 2022 would have enjoyed a gargantuan overall gain of 3,787,464% in terms of per share market value, leaving the stellar 24,708% return from the S&P 500 index with dividends included for dust.Under the direction of legendary investor Warren Buffett

Electric car maker set to overtake TeslaBoth hold a 17% global market share Buffett and Munger early convertsNext year is likely to mark a turning point in the global EV (electric vehicle) market, with relatively unknown Chinese manufacturer BYD (1211:HSE) overtaking the current leader Tesla (TSLA:NASDAQ) in terms of units sold.Even though BYD barely has a presence in the US market, due to punitiv

Latest dividend jumps 15.8% to $0.66 per shareOn track for 2023 payout above consensus hopesUnveils new $11 billion share buyback schemeCredit cards colossus Mastercard (MA:NYSE) hiked its third quarter shareholders dividend by 15.8% and plans a new $11 billion share buyback scheme.The raise, from $0.57 per share to $0.66, is a statement of intent that the New York-based business plans to use its

Swashbuckling gains were clocked up in November as investors bet that falling inflation, a firm jobs market, and mostly better than expected corporate earnings bode well for the US economy into 2024.The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.8% over the past week, and while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose more modestly, it?s still been a hell of a month for US stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial

Technology giant Apple (AAPL:NASDAQ) saw its growth credentials fall under the microscope after reporting fourth quarter financial results (2 November) as its sales declined for a fourth straight quarter, the longest slide in more than two decades.The Cupertino colossus may have topped forecasts in the three months to 30 September but that did little to offset growing worries that iPhone 15 simply

Third-quarter operating income up 41%Record cash pile despite $1.1 billion buybackStock portfolio drops $24 billionOmaha-based conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B:NYSE) reported a 41% increase in third-quarter operating earnings to $10.7 billion on Saturday 5 November.The company continued to repurchase shares, spending a further $1.1 billion through the quarter, which means the Sage of Omaha h

Investment conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B:NYSE) attracts investor interest in the companies it is buying and selling that is revealed through quarterly 13F filings.These are a regulatory requirement for all firms with more than $100 million in assets under management. At last count on 14 August the publicly traded portfolio was worth $348 billion.In addition the firm holds a record $147 bi

Chinese EV (electric vehicle) maker BYD (002594:SHE) overtook Tesla (TSLA:NASDAQ) to become the world's largest producer in 2022 after global production surpassed 10 million for the first time according to industry publication EV Volumes.While Tesla remains the market leader in terms of annual revenues, analysts' projections see BYD catching up fast.Recent third quarter results suggest Tesla is dr