Has Buffet Taken His Eyes Off The Ball

I couldn't help but notice this morning that Berkshire Hathaway, led by the Oracle of Omaha himself Warren Buffet, has announced a ten percent decrease in profits for 2004. I don't normally follow Berkshire, but it seems odd that Mr. Buffet would sneak this little piece of bad news out on a Saturday morning. To be sure, the news was not all bad with profits for the fourth quarter up 40% and another big payday announced when Gillette was acquired. Yet, there are the investigations by the State of New York and the SEC to come. Warren has a knack for seeing opportunity where many of us don't, but he also seems to have a misplaced concern over how we compensate our employees and the way we run our businesses. Maybe this year in his shareholder letter he will look inward a little more, but I doubt it.