Berkshire shareholders approve stock split Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shareholders approved splitting the company's Class B shares 50-for-1 on Wednesday as part of the company's $26.3 billion acquisition of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. The stock split will enable Berkshire to offer even small BNSF shareholders Berkshire stock as part of the acquisition of the nation's second-largest railroad. And Berkshire CEO Warren Buffett said there are other benefits to the split. The stock split will make Berkshire's Class B stock much more affordable at roughly $69 per share. The lower price for Class B shares will increase Berkshire's liquidity, and Buffett said that, over time, it will likely lead to Berkshire joining the S&P 500 index.
Uno Restaurant Holdings files for Chapter 11 Burdened by debt from a 2005 private equity takeover, the Uno pizzeria chain's parent company filed for Chapter 11 protection Wednesday, with plans to give its lenders a controlling equity stake in exchange for debt. Privately owned Uno Restaurant Holdings Corp. said a majority of its bond holders had agreed to convert $142 million in senior secured debt into a 96 percent equity stake in the reorganized company. That conversion is part of a prearranged restructuring the Boston-based company hopes a bankruptcy judge will approve.
YouTube to test film-rental business Google Inc., which has dabbled with different ways of turning YouTube into a serious money-maker since acquiring it in 2006, said Wednesday it will begin making a limited number of films available for rental through the video service. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company said it will make five films from the 2009 and 2010 Sundance Film festivals available for rent for U.S. users starting Jan. 22, and lasting through Jan. 31.
General Re to pay $92M to settle charges The insurer General Re Corp. has agreed to pay $92.2 million to settle charges by federal authorities and shareholder claims over its alleged role in accounting misconduct schemes by American International Group and Prudential Financial. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department announced the settlements Wednesday with Gen Re, which is part of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the company led by billionaire investor Warren Buffett.
Fidelity's president to retire at end of March Fidelity Investments President Rodger Lawson, 63, is retiring at the end of March after reorganizing a company that's now on better financial footing, but also about 9,000 employees smaller than when he arrived 2 1/2 years ago. Boston-based Fidelity on Wednesday announced Lawson's plans to step down from the No. 2 post at the nation's largest mutual fund company.
Self-publishers to get bigger cut on Kindle Amazon.com Inc. said it will begin offering do-it-yourself authors and publishers a bigger cut of book sales on its Kindle e-reader -- but with strings attached aimed at keeping prices down for consumers. The company said that starting in June, it will offer users of its e-book self-publishing program, the Kindle Digital Text Platform, royalties on book sales of 70 percent after delivery costs. With those costs equaling less than 6 cents per book, Amazon said authors will be able to earn $6.25 per copy on a book that sells for $8.99, rather than the old rate of $3.15.
Anheuser-Busch halts production in Belgium The world's largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev SA, shut down production in its home country Wednesday, in an escalation of a standoff over job cuts with its Belgian workers that is causing beer shortages in shops. Workers began blockading three AB InBev breweries two weeks ago to protest against cutting up to 263 jobs in Belgium as part of a plan to reduce the company's European work force by 10 percent.
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