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Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway sells Bank of America for ninth straight day

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Warren Buffett walks the floor ahead of the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, on May 3, 2024.

David A. Grogen | CNBC

Berkshire Hathaway’s selling streak in its big Bank of America stake has extended to nine straight days, suggesting that Warren Buffett is not just trimming the longtime holding.

The Omaha-based conglomerate sold a total of 18.4 million shares of the bank from Thursday to Monday for $767 million at an average price of $41.65, a new regulatory filing late Monday revealed. Over the past nine trading sessions, Berkshire has cut its stake by 71.2 million shares with just more than $3 billion of sales.

After the selling spree, Berkshire still owns 961.6 million shares of BofA with a market value of $39.5 billion. BofA remains Berkshire’s second-largest equity holding after Apple, but if the conglomerate continues to offload those shares, the bank could fall below third-place American Express, currently valued at $37.6 billion.

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Berkshire is still BofA’s largest shareholder with a 12.3% stake. As an owner of more than 10%, Berkshire has two business days to report any transactions, so we won’t know until Thursday if the selling streak continues Tuesday.

Buffett famously bought $5 billion worth of BofA’s preferred stock and warrants in 2011 in the aftermath of the financial crisis, shoring up confidence in the embattled lender struggling with losses tied to subprime mortgages. He converted those warrants in 2017, making Berkshire the largest shareholder in BofA, vowing that it would be a “long, long time” before he would sell.

Berkshire’s cost basis on the BofA position was about $14.15 per share or $14.6 billion as disclosed at the end of 2021. At the end of March, the holding was worth $39.2 billion. BofA closed Monday at $41.09.

The conglomerate could be taking some profits after BofA’s strong run, culminating in a big year this year. The bank stock has rallied 22% in 2024, outperforming the S&P 500′s 14.5% return.

Berkshire is set to release second-quarter earnings Saturday morning, which will also reveal further info on the conglomerate’s biggest holdings.

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UK announces draft rules for crypto industry, US collaboration

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Romain Costaseca | Afp | Getty Images

LONDON — Britain on Tuesday published draft legislation for the cryptocurrency industry, touting greater collaboration with the U.S. as it looks to regulate the wild world of digital assets.

Speaking at a fintech event Tuesday, U.K. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves announced plans for a “comprehensive regulatory regime for crypto assets,” adding that the proposals would aim to make the country a “world leader in digital assets.”

The rules will bring crypto exchanges, dealers and agents into the regulatory fold, “cracking down on bad actors while supporting legitimate innovation,” the U.K.’s Treasury department said in a statement released following Reeves’ remarks.

“Crypto firms with UK customers will also have to meet clear standards on transparency, consumer protection, and operational resilience — just like firms in traditional finance,” the Treasury’s statement added.

Reeves said that the U.K. planned to deepen regulatory cooperation with the U.S. to boost “responsible” adoption of digital assets. “For the U.K. to be a world leader in digital assets, international cooperation is vital,” she told attendees at fintech industry group Innovate Finance’s annual summit.

The U.K. finance minister met with her U.S. counterpart Scott Bessent last week to discuss a trade deal. She had previously said that improving business ties with the European Union was “arguably even more important.”

“Regulation must support business, not hold it back,” Reeves said Thursday.

Crypto industry insiders say the Financial Conduct Authority — which is the U.K.’s financial services watchdog — has been too restrictive when it comes to approving registrations from digital asset firms.

The FCA is the regulator responsible for registering firms that want to provide crypto services within the scope of money laundering regulations in the U.K.

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