Warren Buffett, chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., center, tours the shopping floor ahead of the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S., on Saturday, May 5, 2018. The rules, which require Berkshire to report unrealized gains or losses in equity investments in net income, helped fuel a $1.14 billion loss at Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. in the first quarter. Photographer: David Williams/Bloomberg
Warren Buffett, chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., center, tours the shopping floor ahead of the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S., on Saturday, May 5, 2018. The rules, which require Berkshire to report unrealized gains or losses in equity investments in net income, helped fuel a $1.14 billion loss at Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. in the first quarter. Photographer: David Williams/Bloomberg

Daily Insider: At Berkshire and BNC, most value if from “meeting outside the meeting.”

For many years, Alec Hogg travelled to Omaha for Warren Buffett’s annual general meeting with Berkshire Hathaway shareholders.
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For many years I travelled to Omaha for Warren Buffett's annual general meeting with Berkshire shareholders. A 52-hour round trip happily undertaken not just to absorb the wisdom of Capitalism's "Oubaas", but to spend quality time among so many like-valued people.

The past week in the 'Berg with the BizNews tribe reminded me how special events like this deliver so much more than those truly outstandig keynotes. Like those Omaha adventures, it's the "meeting outside the meeting" whose value is often under-estimated.

As keynote speaker Sean Peche posted on the BNC WhatsApp channel: "Thank you all for the most amazing few days in the Berg! It was a privilege meeting so many of you – and to those I didn't get to meet, I'll see you in Feb. I left feeling inspired and full of hope for SA."

We'll be sharing the video recordings of the BNC#4's presentations over the next couple weeks. Their content will enrich many lives. But as Sean's note reminds us, there's nothing quite like actually being there. BNC#5 is from Feb 28 to March 3, 2023. Worth putting into the diary. 

To catch up on the best of BizNews from last week, click below for the full BizNews Digest

data-title=" Polling data shows ANC a sniff above 50% with 56% voter turnout – Dr Frans Cronje explains: Independent analyst Dr Frans Cronje's think tank, the Social Research Foundation (SRF) has issued a report showing the ANC would likely win an absolute maximum of 52% of the vote in an election modelled on voter turnout of 56%. The SRF report has garnered significant attention primarily because polling company Ipsos puts the ANC at only 42%, according to its latest polling data. The big difference between these two is the SRF report dealt only with registered voters while Ipsos didn't. South Africa's voter turnout is historically poor. In the 2019 national election, about 66% of the electorate turned out, dropping from 73.4% in 2014. For the 2021 local government elections that figure is even bleaker, at 46% down from 57% in 2014. Among registered voters, Cronje says they're polling the ANC at 46.9%, "and then when we start creating election scenarios, factoring in voter turnout levels, the highest we can get the ANC to is 52%." He says the data regarding the slumping fortunes of the ANC is unambiguous. The SRF report highlights that if only urban South Africans voted, the ANC would muster only 33%. Conversely, if only rural SA headed to the polls, the ANC would win a two-thirds majority. ANC voters are ageing and rural in an urbanising economy. Cronje is adamant that the future survival of the ANC come 2024 is less dependent on anything it does or says, but "is a question of whether the people who wish to beat it are able to pull together sufficiently to shore up confidence in coalition options". If the ANC manages to scrape by in two years' time, it will be a reflection of a disjointed and ineffective opposition in South Africa which simply couldn't get their act together.  Polling data shows ANC a sniff above 50% with 56% voter turnout – Dr Frans Cronje explains"

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