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Buffett's "difficult" but "obvious" decision There will be a Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha on May 2 "as scheduled."
There will not, however, be any shareholders.
In a letter posted this morning on Berkshire's website, Warren Buffett writes that while he "very much regret[s]" having to do so, "we will not be able to allow shareholders to physically attend the meeting and all special events are canceled" due to the still-expanding COVID-19 global pandemic.
Noting that large gatherings could spread the disease and pose a health risk, Buffett says, "We won’t ask this of our employees and we won’t expose Omaha to
He told the Omaha World-Herald today that “Charlie [Munger] and I, we enjoy this event more than anyone in the world. I can tell you, this is one of the most difficult, but unfortunately, the most obvious, decisions I’ve had to make in my life.”
In an illustration of how quickly the country is hunkering down, Buffett added, “Charlie would have been gung-ho three days ago. I talked to him yesterday. He said, ‘Call it off.’"
Among the special events that won't be happening, it appears, is the roughly six-hour long session in which Buffett and Munger answer questions from shareholders, journalists, and analysts. (Here's last year's.)
The meeting, to be held at 3:45 pm Central Time, will consist of the board election, consideration of any shareholder proposals, and other legally-required formalities. (Here's how it went last year.)
Buffett says he will be in attendance with a few Berkshire employees and "possibly Charlie."
He also writes "it's possible" one or more of the journalists who were invited to the meeting "will be present to ask some of the questions submitted to them" by shareholders.
Yahoo Finance will live stream whatever happens, as it has done in the last few years.
In recent years, more than 40,000 people have come to Omaha, giving the city an estimated $21 million economic boost.
Bill Gates leaving Berkshire and Microsoft boards Here's another reason we probably won't be seeing Buffett's friend Bill Gates in Omaha this May.
In a surprise move late this afternoon, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates announced on LinkedIn that he's stepping down from the board of that company, and from the board of Berkshire Hathaway, "to dedicate more time to philanthropic priorities including global health and development, education, and my increasing engagement in tackling climate change." 
Gates wrote, "Warren and I were the best of friends long before I joined and will be long after. I look forward to our continued partnership as co-trustees of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and co-founders of The Giving Pledge."
Buffett on coronavirus: "Well, it's going to be terrible," but ... Ahead of its live stream of the meeting, Buffett did an interview with Yahoo Finance on Tuesday.
Asked by editor-in-chief Andy Sewer about the potential economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak, Buffett replied, "Well, it's going to be terrible. But I've always felt a pandemic would happen at some time."
While it may be an interruption, "it won't stop the progress of the country and the world" over the long term. "The progress of mankind has been incredible and that won't stop." Buffett said Monday's big losses, sparked by what he called the "one-two punch" of coronavirus fears and an oil price war, weren't as bad as the 1987 Black Monday market crash, but it was an "imitation."
And he pointed out there aren't fears now that money market funds could collapse as credit markets froze, as we saw in the 2008 financial crisis. "That was much more scary by far than anything that happened [Monday.]"
In addition, Buffett said "things have changed a lot" with the economy since his February 23 CNBC interview when he said it was a little bit softer than six months earlier.
Icahn raises the stakes in fight against Buffett-backed deal Activist investor Carl Icahn is taking advantage of a 71% slide in the price of Occidental Petroleum shares this year to increase his stake in the company to 10% as he tries to replace its entire board.
He's been harshly critical of Occidental's $38 billion deal to buy Anadarko, telling CNBC it's "one of the worst I've ever seen."
Berkshire Hathaway contributed $10 billion in financing for the acquisition, in the form of what is in effect a loan paying a dividend of 8%, or $800 million, per year. Icahn thinks that was an expensive mistake made in desperation by OXY's management.
"I mean Warren did a great job for himself and Berkshire ... but they didn’t have to give him a $1.5 billion gift," he told "Halftime Report" last August.
This week, responding to plunging oil prices, Occidental cut its common stock dividend by 86% and moved to cut costs,
Buffett's loan dividend, however, is not affected, although Berkshire has seen its relatively modest 2% common stock stake (now worth $270 million) drop in value.
BUFFETT AROUND THE INTERNET Some links may require a subscription
BERKSHIRE STOCK WATCH
BERKSHIRE'S TOP STOCK HOLDINGS
Berkshire's top stock holdings by market value, based on today's closing prices. The number of shares held is as of December 31, 2019, as disclosed in the company's February 14 13F SEC filing, except for Delta Air Lines, which is as of February 27, 2020
The full list of holdings and current market values is available from CNBC.com's Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio Tracker.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS
Please send any questions or comments about the newsletter to me at alex.crippen@nbcuni.com. (Sorry, but we don't forward questions or comments to Buffett himself.)
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-- Alex Crippen, Editor, Warren Buffett Watch
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