On Saturday, May 3, thousands of people converged on a city on the banks of the Missouri river in the central US state of Nebraska. It wasn’t a religious gathering. Nor was it a political rally or a protest march. It wasn’t a baseball championship match, either. But the gathering was part of an annual affair and nobody was surprised that so many people came to the city from across the US or from outside the country and even the North American continent.
Any guesses what was the gathering about? If you still don’t know, here’s another hint: Everybody who came there had a common purpose—to listen to and interact with a 94-year-old man widely regarded as one of the best minds ever when it comes to matters of investing. No points for guessing it now!
Yes, we are talking about the annual meeting of the shareholders of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway in Omaha. Like every year, the shareholders wanted to know the legendary investor’s views on the markets and the state of the economy. They hoped to get some advice on how to make their own investing journey more rewarding and their portfolios stronger. And they perhaps needed a few words of wisdom on navigating an increasingly uncertain world.
What they got instead was a big surprise. Buffett, who interacted with the shareholders for over four hours, wrapped up the meeting with the announcement that he was hanging up his boots as the CEO of Berkshire at the end of 2025.
“I think the time has arrived where Greg should become the chief executive officer of the company at year end,” said Buffett, referring to the 62-year-old vice chairman Greg Abel. Buffett—referred to as the Oracle of Omaha—added that he would “hang around and conceivably be useful in a few cases” but that Abel would have the “final word”.
The decision didn’t catch just the shareholders off guard; even most of Berkshire’s directors and Abel himself didn’t know. Anyway, the move marks the end of an era. In his 60 years at the helm of Berkshire, Buffett—along with friend and business partner Charlie Munger, who died in 2023—transformed a failed textile company into a conglomerate with a market value of $1.1 trillion and $348 billion of cash. Today, Berkshire owns nearly 200 businesses and scores of stocks that range from Apple Inc and Coca Cola to Japanese trading conglomerates Mitsubishi and Mitsui.
That’s not all. Between 1965 and 2024, Berkshire’s stock price recorded a compounded annual gain of 19.9%. That’s nearly double the 10.4% annual rise in the Standard & Poor’s. Even in 2025, when US stock markets have been volatile thanks mainly to President Donald Trump’s tariff policies, Berkshire’s shares have gained nearly 19%.
Buffett became a household name over this period and one of the world’s richest people with a net worth of $168.2 billion. That’s after donating $15.1 billion to family charities and $43.3 billion to the Gates Foundation since 2006. And he has tasked his three children to donate most of his fortune after his death.
Few can match, or even hope to match, these numbers and the life that Buffett has lived. Buffett’s legacy and his investing mantras—the importance of fundamentals, not overpaying for a stock, holding the right stocks for a long time, and being patient—will continue to inspire millions of people. “There’s never been someone like Warren,” tweeted Apple CEO Tim Cook. “And countless people, myself included, have been inspired by his wisdom.”
Seal the Deal
Moving back home, India sealed a long-awaited free trade agreement with Britain this week, more than three years after negotiations first started in January 2022. Trade talks between the two countries had gathered pace earlier this year after US President Donald Trump’s tariff tantrum turned the international trading system on its head.
Bilateral trade between India and the UK is currently around 42.6 billion pounds and the deal aims to increase this further by 25.5 billion pounds by 2040. The agreement would help “catalyse trade, investment, growth, job creation, and innovation in both our economies”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.
What exactly does the deal entail? Well, neither country has published the deal’s text so far pending a formal signing and ratification but they said that the agreement covers almost all goods.
The Indian government said 99% of the country’s exports to Britain would benefit from zero tariffs under the agreement. On its part, Britain will see a cut on 90% of its tariff lines. The agreement is even more important for Britain since it is the first major trade deal that it has signed with any large economy since moving out of the European Union in 2020.
For Britain, the deal opens up the India market for its whisky and automobiles. India will initially reduce tariffs on whisky to 75% from 150% and then further to 40% by the 10th year. Similarly, India will cut auto tariffs from more than 100% to 10% under a quota system. The reduction in tariffs for British cars also means that India may announce similar cut on tariffs for European carmakers and American firms such as Tesla.
India will also reduce tariffs on aerospace, medical devices, cosmetics, chocolates, biscuits and some other food products. In return, the agreement will help boost India’s exports of products such as textiles, footwear, automobiles, gems and jewellery, and food products.
The deal doesn’t include legal services and financial services, which Britain wants India to open up. But it does cover certain other key areas. For instance, British companies will be allowed to compete for Indian contracts while Indian workers will get to work in Britain more easily.
All in all, the trade deal is a good outcome after long-drawn negotiations and will, hopefully, help shield both the economies from the turmoil caused by Trump’s tariff policies.
Meanwhile, Britain also sealed a limited trade deal with the US. As part of the deal, both countries will now enjoy greater access to each other’s farm products and Britain will reduce its average tariffs on US goods to 1.8% from 5.1%. The deal retains the 10% tariff on British goods that Trump has imposed on all of America’s trading partners. The US will, however, lower duties on British car exports in a move that will also benefit Tata Motors’ Jaguar Land Rover unit.
Standing His Ground
If you think that the two trade deals point towards the return of some normality in the international trading system, think again. For, nobody really knows what Trump will do next and how other countries may react. Not even the smartest and the most powerful people in the US itself. Like the US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.
Despite mounting pressure from Trump to cut interest rates, Powell-led Fed this week kept the benchmark overnight rate unchanged in range of 4.25% to 4.50% citing risks of higher inflation and unemployment due to the tariff policies.
The Fed’s decision to keep the rates on hold for a third straight policy meeting wasn’t a surprise, though. But the Fed’s commentary and Powell’s own statements now point out a greater risk to the US economy than at the start of the year.
The Fed said in its statement that uncertainty about the economic outlook has increased since its last meeting in March and that risks of a rise in both inflation and unemployment were increasing.
In his press conference after the Fed meeting, Powell said it wasn’t clear if the US economy will continue to grow or shrink under rising uncertainty and a possible spike in prices. “The scope, the scale, the persistence of those effects are very, very uncertain,” he said. “It’s not at all clear what the appropriate response for monetary policy is at this time… It’s really not at all clear what it is we should do.”
Now, take a minute to think about Powell just said. The head of the central bank of the world’s biggest economy is saying he isn’t sure what to do at this point in time. In some ways, that’s a frightening thought.
Trump was obviously furious. He has been asking Powell to cut rates for several months in an effort to boost the US economy. Interestingly, Trump had himself appointed Powell as the Fed chair in 2018 during his first term. Joe Biden later appointed Powell for another four years in 2022.
“’Too Late’ Jerome Powell is a FOOL, who doesn’t have a clue,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “Oil and Energy way down, almost all costs (groceries and ‘eggs’) down, virtually NO INFLATION …”
For a US president to berate the Fed chair is such an ugly manner is highly unusual and inappropriate. But then it’s Trump we are talking about!
The only comforting factor, perhaps, is that Powell is not wilting under pressure himself and is standing his ground.
Melting Point
There was little action in the corporate world this week, aside from quarterly earnings. But one development that has rattled companies, bankers and even foreign investors was a decision of the Supreme Court late last week.
The top court ordered the liquidation of Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd (BPSL), dealing a major blow to JSW Steel—the successful resolution applicant. The order, which came well after JSW Steel had paid the banks and taken over operations, raises concerns over the finality of cases resolved under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).
So, how did the drama unfold?
BPSL was one of the earliest cases admitted under the IBC when the Code came into effect. With around ₹47,000 crore in debt and good-quality assets in the form of speciality steel factories, banks attracted strong interest from buyers. Three bidders, including JSW Steel and Tata Steel, made the final cut. The Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Steel emerged as the winning bidder with a ₹19,700 crore offer.
However, when it was discovered that BPSL’s promoters had siphoned off funds, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached its properties under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). This attachment was later vacated by the court, as once a case is admitted under IBC, a moratorium is imposed on its debt. JSW Steel, meanwhile, delayed closing the deal and only paid the banks much later.
When some operational creditors challenged the resolution plan in the Supreme Court, the court observed that the plan should not have been accepted in the first place. In a stinging indictment, the Supreme Court stated that “there was a dishonest and fraudulent attempt made by JSW, misusing the process of the Court” by failing to honour its commitment of upfront payment.
While the law has been upheld, critics argue that the verdict introduces uncertainty into the IBC process. They warn that if takeovers under IBC can be reversed years later, it may deter potential bidders, defeating the very purpose of reviving insolvent companies.
For now, a review petition is expected to be filed. However, the success rate of such petitions is low. The parties involved may be hoping that the court makes an exception—one that upholds the credibility of the IBC framework and keeps it alive and more importantly, kicking.
Market Wrap
The NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex declined about 1.3% each during the week, mainly due to rising geopolitical tensions. This marked the first weekly fall in the benchmark equity indices after three consecutive weeks of gains.
Tata Motors was the top performer among Nifty 50, rising 8.7% after the UK and US signed a trade deal. The agreement boosts prospects for Jaguar Land Rover exports to the US. The exports were earlier suspended due to reciprocal tariffs imposed by Washington.
Pharma stocks were among the laggards following US President Donald Trump’s recent directive to drugmakers to relocate factories to boost domestic production. Cipla, Sun Pharma, and Dr. Reddy’s fell between 2% and 5% during the week.
IT and banking stocks also underperformed, while NTPC was the biggest loser, dropping over 7%.
Asian Paints declined more than 6% after reporting a near 50% drop in net profit for the January–March
Earnings snapshot
- Mahindra & Mahindra profit up 22% to Rs 2,437 crore, misses forecasts
- Titan consolidated net profit up 11% at Rs 871 crore, beats forecasts
- Larsen and Toubro consolidated net profit jumps 25% to Rs 5,497 crore, tops estimates
- Asian Paints profit slumps 45% to Rs 692 crore, misses expectations
- Coal India consolidated revenue falls 1% to Rs 37,825 crore, profit up 12% at Rs 9,604 crore
- Dabur consolidated net profit slips 8.4% to Rs 320 crore but beats analysts’ expectations
- Kingfisher beer maker United Breweries posts 20.5% rise in standalone profit to Rs 97.38 crore
- Paytm loss widens to Rs 540 crore from Rs 208 crore year ago on ESOP costs
- Godrej Consumer Product consolidated net profit at Rs 412 crore vs year-ago loss of Rs 1,893 crore
- Tata Chemicals consolidated net loss narrows to Rs 56 crore from Rs 850 crore year ago
- KFC, Pizza Hut operator Sapphire Foods India’s profit falls 25% to Rs 1.79 crore
- MRF net profit jumps 31% to Rs 498 crore, tops estimates
- HPCL standalone net profit rises 18% to Rs 3,355 crore
Other headlines
- Tata Motors shareholders clear plan to split passenger and commercial vehicles businesses
- Electric scooter maker Ather Energy ends nearly 6% down on stock market debut
- LG Electronics India starts work on new $600 million plant in Andhra Pradesh
- Paytm, founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma settle with SEBI in ESOPs case
- Policybazaar owner PB Fintech to set up hospitals, raises $218 million in seed funding round
- RBI outlines framework to standardise process of making and amending rules
- Commerce ministry forms committee to review copyright law amid legal challenges to OpenAI
- Adani Power wins contract to supply 1,500 MW to Uttar Pradesh
- HSBC India Services Purchasing Managers’ Index rises to 58.7 in April from 58.5 in March
That’s all for this week. Until next week, happy investing.
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