The recession took a nasty toll on NetJets, one of Warren Buffett's holdings. While the company made a profit of $207 million in 2010, it lost $711 million the year before, Bloomberg reported.

NetJets owns a fleet of business aircraft and lets customers buy hours of flight time. With the economy picking up steam, Buffet apparently feels that demand for his aircrafts will also grow.

Continue reading Buffett's NetJets Orders 120 Planes from Bombardier

Buffett's NetJets Orders 120 Planes from Bombardier originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 03 Mar 2011 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Last Friday Warren Buffett said he was anxious to pull the trigger on another large deal -- having only recently completed the Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A and BRK.B) acquisition of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad. Since then, prognosticators far and wide have been making suggestions about his next possible moves.

Considering I wrote about the railroads the day before the BNSF announcement, I thought I would share a few ideas, old and new.

Continue reading Serious Money: What Should Warren Buffett Do Next?

Serious Money: What Should Warren Buffett Do Next? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Mar 2011 09:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If you had the good fortune to invest with Warren Buffett in 1965, your return would be about 305,134%. That compares to about 5,583% for the S&P.

However, Buffett may be missing out on some easy money. This is according to Rafi Mohammed, who is the author of The Art of Pricing: How to Find the Hidden Profits to Grow Your Business and runs Pricingforprofit.com.

True, he thinks Buffett made a good deal when he purchased NetJets in 1998. The model - of fractional ownership - allows more people to use the service.

But, what happens during peak times, such as during on the Super Bowl or certain holidays? NetJets fills the increased demand by chartering jets - which is awfully expensive.

In other words, the company could increase profitability by adopting a simple strategy of peak/off-peak pricing. For example, if you have a non-peak option, there are black-out periods. A peak owner, however, will get to fly at all times.

According to Rafi: "A pretty straightforward and profitable fix to an expensive challenge, wouldn't you agree? The upside of better pricing is not limited to NetJets. I believe that every business can uncover their hidden profits through simple pricing changes."

Yes, even Warren Buffett can learn some lessons.

You can get a full analysis at Rafi's blog.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and operates DealProfiles.com.

Warren Buffett leave millions on the table with NetJets originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Dec 2006 17:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.