Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)Buffett hunting for acquisitions
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett says he continues looking for a major acquisition for his Berkshire Hathaway, but he's not willing to pay more to compete with other bidders.
Buffett says Berkshire has lost out on a couple of major acquisitions in recent years because private equity firms are bidding aggressively with borrowed money. Berkshire doesn't borrow for acquisitions.
The Berkshire chairman and CEO said Wednesday during an interview on CNBC that Berkshire has about $40 billion cash on hand currently. Buffett says that Berkshire has made about 15 smaller acquisitions this year.
Berkshire Hathaway owns Shaw Industries in Dalton, Ga., and Clayton Homes in Knoxville.
Best Buy execs leave amid slump
Best Buy Corp. said Wednesday two executives, including its U.S. president, are leaving the company. It also said net income would be "significantly below" last year and a key revenue figure would fall.
The moves are the latest by CEO Hubert Joly, hired in August. Best Buy is fighting to reverse a decline in its business because of a weak global economy and consumers' changing shopping habits.
New home sales up to 2-year high
U.S. sales of new homes jumped last month to the highest level in more than two years, the latest evidence of a sustained housing recovery that could boost the sluggish economy.
New home sales rose 5.7 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 389,000. That's the highest since April 2010 when a federal homebuyer tax credit inflated sales. Sales have risen 27 percent in the past year.
Facebook stock rises 19 percent
Facebook's stock gained the most in a single day Wednesday since it began trading in May, a sign that the social media company's complicated relationship with Wall Street may be getting brighter.
Besides posting quarterly results that inched past Wall Street's expectations, Facebook on Tuesday also gave details for the first time on how much money it made from mobile ads.
Shares of Facebook Inc., which is based in Menlo Park, Calif., rose $3.73, or 19 percent, to close at $23.23 on Wednesday.