Google inks huge wind power deal with Warren Buffett’s Iowa power company
Google keeps finding creative ways to power its data centers with clean energy. Here’s the largest and latest in Iowa.
Warren Buffett dumps stake in Gannett and buys into Dish
http://money.cnn.com/2013/08/15/investing/berkshire-buffett-newspapers/
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (s BRKA) has sold off its $38 million stake in newspaper publisher Gannett Company (s GCI) and purchased $23 million worth of shares in the Dish Network, according to SEC filings. CNN Money notes that Berkshire Hathaway remains the largest outside shareholder in the Washington Post (s WPO), which Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos recently acquired for $250 million.
Post bankruptcy, Tribune Co. plans to sell off newspapers and TV stations
The Tribune Co. officially emerged from bankruptcy Monday with a new board including former Yahoo exec Ross Levinsohn and former Disney exec Peter Murphy. The company plans to sell off its 23 television stations, eight daily newspapers and stakes in websites like CareerBuilder.com.
Huge Arizona solar panel farm now 2/3 completed
The Agua Caliente solar project in Yuma County, Arizona — which is one of the world’s largest solar panel farms — is now two thirds completed, according to the owners and developer of the project, NRG Energy, MidAmerican Solar and First Solar.
Don’t just liquidate your newspapers — reinvent them
Newspaper companies are trying to cut costs by shutting down the printing presses and laying off staff, but unless they have a strategy for managing the transition from print to digital, all they are doing is liquidating the goodwill of a generation of readers and advertisers.
Why Clay Shirky is right and Warren Buffett is wrong
Is Warren Buffett’s recent acquisition of the Media General chain a brilliant gamble, or an indication of his faith in the long-term prospects of newspapers? Clay Shirky argues it is neither — he says Buffett misunderstands some fundamental things about the business he has bought.
Why Warren Buffett is buying newspapers
The Oracle of Omaha acquired his hometown newspaper in January and just snapped up dozens more in a $142 million deal. This is supposed to be the fastest declining industry in America. What is Warren Buffett up to?
Yahoo CEO apologizes — for being a distraction
Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson apologized to his staff but has yet to explain how he wound up being credited for a degree he didn’t get. Meanwhile Third Point’s Daniel Loeb turns up the heat in a proxy battle that may claim a CEO.
Why Warren Buffett is wrong about newspaper paywalls
Being a billionaire means Warren Buffett’s views on all kinds of things get a lot of attention — but his comments about the benefits of newspaper paywalls suggest the octagenarian investor misunderstands what the business of content looks like in our digital and hyper-connected age.
Today in Cleantech
I wrote this week in my weekly update about Warren Buffett owned, MidAmerican Energy, and it’s long term view of the value of solar energy. Well the company is at it again with an announcement this morning that it will be forming a dedicated unit, MidAmerican Renewables, that will exclusively focus on renewable energy development in four areas—wind, solar, geothermal and hydro. MidAmerican VP for federal policy, Jonathan Weisgall, was vocal in his statement that the renewable energy unit “is not a bet,” alluding to claims that MidAmerican is going after tax credits with renewable energy development. I take him at his word, mostly because the tax credits just aren’t that good. MidAmerican also doesn’t have to do this—there’s far less renewable energy regulation in the Midwest. Rather, it actually thinks the value of renewable energy will continue to grow.