Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway closes with market value over one trillion dollars
(Reuters) — Berkshire Hathaway’s market value exceeded $1 trillion for the first time on Wednesday, reflecting investor confidence in the conglomerate that Warren Buffett built over nearly 60 years into a company that many consider an indicator of the American economy.
Buffett’s company joined six other U.S. companies, all in or related to the technology sector, that are valued at more than $1 trillion: Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Alphabet, the parent company of Google, Amazon.com, and Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook.
Buffett, who turns 94 on Friday, has headed the Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Group since 1965.
Two other crew members of Lynch’s yacht are being examined
PALERMO, Italy (Reuters) — Italian prosecutors are investigating two more crew members of British technology magnate Mike Lynch’s yacht and its captain in connection with the sinking of the vessel more than a week ago, a judicial source said on Wednesday.
Lynch and six other people were killed when the 56-metre British-flagged yacht Bayesian capsized and sank at dawn on August 19, just minutes after a storm hit, while anchored off the coast of Sicily.
On Monday, the boat’s 51-year-old captain, New Zealander James Cutfield, was investigated for manslaughter and shipwreck.
Ship’s engineer Tim Parker Eaton and sailor Matthew Griffith are being investigated for the same crimes, the source said.
Travelers can end the summer on a positive note with record air travel on Labor Day
(Reuters) — U.S. airlines and airports are bracing for their busiest Labor Day weekend yet as record numbers of travelers pack their bags and prepare to fly away for one last summer trip before the season ends.
The summer travel season, typically one of the busiest times for airlines and airports, saw robust passenger volumes this year despite harsh weather conditions, including unprecedented heat waves and hurricanes.
Over Labor Day weekend (Thursday, August 29 through Wednesday, September 4), 17 million people are expected to pass through airport security checkpoints, according to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), making it the busiest time of year on record for this travel season.
Chinese and US officials discuss new round of talks between Biden and Xi
BEIJING (Reuters) – Senior Chinese and U.S. officials have discussed holding new talks between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping in the near future, the two countries said at high-level meetings in Beijing on Wednesday.
The discussion took place during lengthy talks between China’s top diplomat Wang Yi and US national security adviser Jake Sullivan, which took place against the backdrop of fierce disagreements between the superpowers and the race to succeed Biden in the 2024 US election.
Both sides also agreed to hold video calls between their military commanders in charge of hot spots in the Indo-Pacific region “in due course,” according to Chinese minutes of the meetings. Washington hopes the move can prevent conflicts in areas such as the Taiwan Strait.
Sweden prosecutes two men for burning Korans
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) — Swedish prosecutors said on Wednesday they would put on trial two men who set fire to the Koran in a series of incidents last year that sparked outrage across the Muslim world and raised fears of jihadist attacks.
The two men committed “crimes of incitement against an ethnic or national group” on four separate occasions when they burned the holy book of Islam in front of a mosque and other public places, the Swedish public prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
The evidence against the two men, named Salwan Momika and Salwan Najem, consisted mostly of video recordings, Hankkio said.
Najem denied any wrongdoing, his lawyer Mark Safaryan told Reuters on Wednesday.
Momika’s lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Momika, a refugee from Iraq, said he wanted to protest against the institution of Islam and ban its holy book.
