FirstFT: Berkshire Hathaway’s Charlie Munger dies at 99

Stay informed with free updates

Simply sign up to the World myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.

Good morning.

Charlie Munger, the sharp-witted vice-chair of Berkshire Hathaway and investment partner of Warren Buffett, died at the age of 99 yesterday morning at a California hospital, the US conglomerate said in a statement.

Munger was instrumental in turning Berkshire into a financial powerhouse, acting as the driving force behind some of its investments.

Buffett, Berkshire’s chief executive, said in a statement that the company “could not have been built to its present status without Charlie’s inspiration, wisdom and participation”.

Munger first met Buffett in 1959 and joined Berkshire Hathaway’s board in 1978. Read more about Munger’s life and legacy.

Here’s what else I’m watching today:

• Economic data: The US has revised third-quarter gross domestic product figures, and the Federal Reserve publishes its Beige Book of economic trends. Spain and Germany have preliminary inflation data, Italy reports on consumer and business confidence and the OECD releases its world economic outlook.

• US: The funeral service of Rosalynn Carter, former first lady to president Jimmy Carter, will be held in Plains, Georgia.

• Results: Dollar Tree, Foot Locker and Prosus report, and General Motors issues a business update.

Five more top stories

1. The dollar hit a three-month low yesterday and US Treasury yields slid as investors grew increasingly confident that the US Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates by mid-2024. The decline accelerated after Christopher Waller, one of the Fed’s most hawkish policymakers, signalled that interest rates were unlikely to rise further and could be cut if inflation continued to slow. 

2. Ron DeSantis and his backers have outspent Donald Trump, Joe Biden and other US presidential candidates, fuelling a political advertising battle that has already cost $250mn with almost a year left to go before the election. Despite the vast campaign spending by his Republican rivals, Trump maintains a formidable advantage in primary polls, leading his two closest challengers by some 50 points, according to polling averages compiled by FiveThirtyEight.com.

3. Thousands of Palestinian children in Gaza have been killed, injured or have lost their parents during Israel’s bombardment of the densely populated strip. António Guterres, the UN secretary-general, said the war between Israel and Hamas had turned the besieged enclave into a “graveyard for children,” who make up almost half of Gaza’s 2.3mn population.

4. Exclusive: A top CIA official posted a pro-Palestine image on Facebook two weeks after Hamas attacked Israel, in a rare public political statement amid dissent over the White House’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war. The CIA’s associate deputy director for analysis changed her Facebook cover photo on October 21 to an image of a man waving a Palestinian flag that is often used in stories criticising Israel.

5. Apple has proposed winding down its credit card and savings account partnership with Goldman Sachs sooner than planned. A term sheet offered by Apple would create an option to end the current multiyear contract in the next 12 to 15 months, according to people familiar with the matter, and would only go into effect if the iPhone maker is able to find an alternative provider for the two services.

The Big Read

Ukraine’s oligarchs once dominated the economy, running monopolies on energy and commodities with the help of allies inside politics and the judiciary. But Russia’s war, an economic slump and exceptional powers for the state under martial law have cut these politically influential business figures down to size, with many losing wealth and influence. Yet outside of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government, few Ukrainians are ready to write them off definitively.

We’re also reading and listening to . . . 

Chart of the day

The $92bn deal for cloud computing specialist VMware last week stands out for its length and complexity, and has also turned out to be one of the private equity industry’s most lucrative. The acquisition by Broadcom earned $70bn in gains for tech entrepreneur Michael Dell and investment firm Silver Lake, delivering more than $14bn in cash to the two parties, according to FT calculations.

Take a break from the news

If you could change your health fate, would you? Comprehensive diagnostic testing — which harnesses advanced imaging technology, DNA analysis, blood panels for hundreds of markers and an exhaustive functional evaluation — flags up a wide range of issues, both lifestyle and hereditary. How much you want to know about your future — and how much you’re willing to do about it — are decisions to make before you go all in.

Additional contributions from Benjamin Wilhelm and Grace Ramos