CalPERS to vote to replace Buffett as Berkshire chairman

CalPERS, the largest U.S. public pension fund, on Tuesday said it will vote for a shareholder proposal that Berkshire Hathaway Inc replace Warren Buffett as chairman, though he would remain chief executive officer.

The fund, whose full name is the California Public Employees' Retirement System, disclosed its vote in a regulatory filing ahead of Berkshire's scheduled April 30 annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. READ MORE

These states have posted the most dramatic post-pandemic job gains

More than a dozen US states reached or exceeded their pre-pandemic employment levels in March, and more than one-third have reported record-low unemployment rates, according to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

As the nation claws its way back from the stark job losses incurred during the early stages of the pandemic, the latest numbers show a clearer picture of a regionally driven recovery, with some of the most dramatic and sustained employment gains occurring in the Rocky Mountain states. READ MORE

DeSantis looks to hold Twitter board 'accountable' for response to Musk's buyout bid

Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that Florida will seek ways to hold Twitter's board of directors "accountable" over their response to billionaire Elon Musk's bid to take the company private.

"The state of Florida, in our pension system, we have shares of Twitter," DeSantis said during a press conference. "I didn't buy it. We have people that run the fund, but nevertheless, it hasn't been great in return on investment. It's been pretty stagnant for many, many years." READ MORE

The Best Leaders Have a Contagious Positive Energy

Researchers and leaders have looked for the secret to successful leadership for centuries. Dozens of new books each year promise to deliver the answer. We decided to examine this question empirically, and when we did, we found that the greatest predictor of success for leaders is not their charisma, influence, or power. It is not personality, attractiveness, or innovative genius. The one thing that supersedes all these factors is positive relational energy: the energy exchanged between people that helps uplift, enthuse, and renew them. READ MORE

Towns Are Turning to Pot Shops to Shore Up Their Budgets

As cannabis sales surge around the U.S., local authorities are reaching agreements with businesses in order to secure funding for new services. 

Operators seeking local licenses increasingly are agreeing to municipal officials’ requests for a sweetened deal. The spoils of these so-called host community agreements come atop their slice of overall sales, with towns and cities typically collecting an additional 2% or 3%. Companies are betting it’s worth it to be early on the scene. READ MORE

Once a retail giant, Kmart nears extinction after closure

The familiar sights and sounds are still there: the scuffed and faded floor tiles, the relentless beige-on-beige color scheme, the toddlers’ clothes and refrigerators and pretty much everything in between.

There’s even a canned recording that begins, “Attention, Kmart shoppers” — except it’s to remind folks about COVID-19 precautions, not to alert them to a flash sale over in ladies’ lingerie like days of old. READ MORE

Researchers: Nearly Half Of Accounts Tweeting About Coronavirus Are Likely Bots

Nearly half of the Twitter accounts spreading messages on the social media platform about the coronavirus pandemic are likely bots, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University said Wednesday.

Researchers culled through more than 200 million tweets discussing the virus since January and found that about 45% were sent by accounts that behave more like computerized robots than humans. READ MORE

Meet the Entrepreneur Who Left Silicon Valley to Create a Makeshift Supply Chain in Ukraine

It wasn't long after the bombing began on February 24 that Andrey Liscovich decided to leave behind his home in San Francisco and make the three-day trek to his native Ukraine to help with the war effort.

Liscovich, a 37-year-old entrepreneur and most recently the CEO of Uber Works, a now-defunct staffing firm subsidiary of Uber, was inspired by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky's grave assessment of the situation during the early days of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He thought, if Ukraine's president was willing to stay behind and defend the country despite numerous assassination attempts, he should do what he could to help too. READ MORE