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It's that time again! Time to refocus on "my pal Warren's" life's work, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B), which closed yesterday at $4,119.50 and is trading lower, currently at $4,080. That is enough to get my attention after staying on the sidelines for months since I followed it up from our last buy-in around $3,600.

BRK.B shares reached a 52 week high of $5,059 last December and it has been bouncing around ever since with a trend downward.

This is not the time to pounce on the stock. This is the time to prepare yourself to pounce on the stock.

The current Price-to-Earnings (P/E) ratio is 16.4. which is slightly under the current market average, but this is no average company. It actually is rated AAA (for real!) and has been for a long time. Most investors would consider Berkshire a safe haven, unless of course they decided to buy it at the all time high.

Recently I posted a Serious Money metrics story that included Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) comparisons along with six other stocks. Until now I have not felt very strongly about the merits of Microsoft's offer to acquire Yahoo! and merge assets and features.

I was leaning toward the price is too high camp, but now, after Microsoft has withdrawn the offer and I have looked at the current state of affairs of both companies, I think it did the right thing and may have avoided a nightmare.

To bring Yahoo! into the fold, Microsoft would have had to find enough cost savings by eliminating overlapping departments or it would have had to hope it could double Yahoo's earnings. If not, the acquisition would unduly weigh down the mother ship, because Microsoft's P/E Ratio of 17.08 is half that of Yahoo!'s 34.25.

It was only a few weeks ago I was thinking, how much higher can this one go but sure enough, Precision Drilling Services TR (NYSE: PDS), the Canadian Trust went higher. In my last report, PDS announced its monthly dividend distribution. The current yield is 5.6% down from the 10% range it was paying when I first recommended it, but still a good return.

Today PDS closed at $28.04, a new 52-week high, now 81.24% above the $15.47 it was five months ago. During the trading day it touched on $28.12.

Last month Precision reported a 33% loss and still the share price is moving up. This supports all the reports that keep popping up regarding the price differential between natural gas and oil suggesting the the NG prices are going up and that drilling companies like PDS will be swamped. Although PDS has had a rough trailing 12 months, creating the buying opportunity, the stock price is clearly being lifted by anticipation of a bright future.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money. Disclosure: I own shares of PDS.

Today IndyMac Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: IMB) reported that its quarterly loss was cut by 64% leaving investors with a small glimmer of hope... although the company has done a small about face. Previously IndyMac had suggested it might be possible to get back to profitability by the fourth quarter. They now are reporting that they probably will not report a positive quarter in 2008.

It was only ten days ago that CEO says IndyMac has 'turned a corner' but the story continues to evolve. The stock closed down today at $3.06, losing 37 cents or almost 11% of it's value.

Disclosure: I own shares of IMB.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money.

Several leading business journals have reported that China has created its own regional jumbo jet company to compete with Boeing Co (NYSE: BA) and Airbus.

The Financial Times (subscription required) reports, "China has unveiled a state-owned aircraft manufacturer intended to eventually challenge Boeing and Airbus's control of the global market in large airliners." The Times characterizes the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (CACC) as "a significant step in Beijing's drive to create an advanced civil aviation manufacturing sector able to help meet the country's rapidly growing demand for regional and larger jets."

Reuters noted that, "many analysts have expressed skepticism about the commercial prospects of a large jet designed and manufactured entirely in China, given the country's limited experience in big aircraft." Not sure what analysts know, I'm skeptical just as much of them.

Last year, my best Chasing Value recommendation was Aluminum Corp of China ADS (NYSE: ACH), which sailed from $22 per share to a 52-week high of $90.95. I will take credit for finding a winner, but I cannot in all honesty say that I thought it would more than quadruple -- that part was luck. (The original story was Chasing Value: Aluminum Corporation of China ADS, which I still think is worth a read today.)

If you acquired what is often referred to as Chalco (China Alum. Co.) anywhere near the time I recommended it and still own it you are probably still very content with only perhaps a 90% gain as the stock has come down some, closing last Friday May 9 at $40.98

Another of my recommendations was General Dynamics Corp (NYSE: GD), which closed Friday at $90.92. This one is only up a few percentage points from my starting point of $88 per share, but you will note, curiously, that it is only 3 cents off ACH's high. Given the market's bad year, a gain when the market is losing is a bigger plus than the casual observer would perceive. The defense sector has provided the anticipated market defense as I discussed.

About a month ago I posted Serious Money: AAPL, EBAY, GE, GOOG, MSFT, TWX, WMT, YHOO -- one more look, covering the original Great Eight stocks we focused on at BloggingStocks. These were based on reader interest, which they do still generate today.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was the big winner among only four that had appreciated. The following indicates commonly used metrics for tracking and comparing stocks.

Reviewing the stocks in order of lowest to highest P/E ratio (TTM):

• Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) 14.84
• General Electric (NYSE: GE) 14.91
• Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) 17.08
• Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) 18.29
• Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) 34.25
• Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) 37.82
• Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) 40.28
• eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) 95.24

It is interesting to note that only two of the eight have a below market P/E ratio, while only two are average. On the other hand, four are double the average and beyond, which leads me to believe the overall market consensus is that it is still very early in the game for these stocks and their futures are yet to be determined. The P/E ratios of the four are also the most volatile as are the stock prices.

This week I received a long rant from Dan, one our very astute readers. I extracted the following from what he wrote:

Yesterday I received an offer to "Cut My Indebtedness" by shifting over to a bi-weekly mortgage payment, tied to my paydays. The "offer" goes on to show how much I will save over the term of the loan by enrolling in their plan. The kicker is (& here is a reference to an old Country song I remember from years ago, "The Large Print Giveth, What the Small Print Taketh Away") the small print. There is a $9.00 per month "participation fee". A fee to participate? ...my rant. THEY CAN"T STOP YOU FROM MAKING ADDITIONAL PRINCIPAL PAYMENTS.

This has happened to me as well, and if you have lived in your home for a few years or more, it is likely you received a similar offer. Dan raised many valid points in his longer version, but the three main points are that you should focus on the small print, there should not be a fee for paying down your loan, and finally if you have a loan that allows prepayments of the principal amount you can make interim principal payments any time you want.

One feature of bi-weekly payments that Dan overlooks or fails to distinguish, and that homeowners should recognize, is that they reduce the amount of interest you pay over the life of the loan without additional "monthly" principal contributions. That is a real savings, and the bank feels the service of processing this has a cost to them and a value to you. On most loans, the savings of many thousands of dollars would greatly exceed the fee, and the fee does not increase on larger loan amounts. Perhaps it is their presentation of the offer that appears deceitful.

Here is a detailed explanation of bi-weekly payments. The example they give you indicates a savings of almost $58,000 interest on a $75,000 loan. Fees or no fees it provides substantial benefit tothe borrower.

Happy Mothers Day

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money.

During Thursday's trading, Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) hit an all-time high of $78.75 and closed at $77.62. Anadarko was one of my first recommendations after I started writing for BloggingStocks, and is nearing 100% appreciation from the $40 price tag it had when we acquired it.

The 10-year chart below indicates the strong long-term performance of Anadarko, rising about 500% and paying dividends to boot. I cannot say the stock is a bargain at recent highs, but I can emphatically state that this company belongs on your watch list.

This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.

There are many contrasts between The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and Lowe's (NYSE: LOW), both of which sell a broad range of tools, fixtures, fittings, garden supplies, and construction materials to do-it-your selfers and professional contractors alike. Home Depot is the original big-box category killer of a hardware store that displaced many a mom-and-pop shop, as well as its predecessors, like Builders Emporium. Lowe's, the new kid on the block has been growing like mad with Home Depot's business in it's cross-hairs.

Both companies have been suffering mightily in the face of the housing slump and the crushing financial markets. Eventually, recession or not, both companies will see their revenues improve as the economy works through it's nightmarish problems.

This weeks Barron's (subscription required) talks about The Next Warren Buffett. Of course nobody believes that's going to happen. The headline is cast to grab attention and sell papers, just like mine, but it's not happening: no way, no how!

Barron's discusses in it's story the strong possibilty that David Sokol, 51, the curent chairman of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company is the most likely to succeed Buffett. MidAmerican has $39 billion in assets and is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A). The headline should really have read "succeed" not be the "next".

The stock market was down without much conviction in the early going with the DJIA off 40 to 50 points. But someone must have pulled the plug somewhere as it has been dropping fast from about 2 p.m. and the Dow was down over 180 points as I pecked away at the keyboard.

What the heck changed overall market sentiment so suddenly? Some say it's oil prices drifting higher. That's always a good scapegoat and probably has something to do with it. It might also be a connected issue with the raging conflicts in the middle east and Africa.

There is always the negative sentiment about housing, employment, last night's democratic primaries in Indiana and North Carolina just muddling on. It might also be our current president just muddling on, or it might just be that all of these things just prompted some profit taking after weeks of appreciation.

Maybe it is my pal Warren's negative sentiment about the financial sector and the years of pain that may still need to be worked out of the system. Whatever it is you can be sure that after the market closes the Wall Street pundits will discuss all their presumptions as if they were facts...

UPDATE: The DJIA closed at 12,814.35 down -206.48, or -1.59%

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money.

This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.

Something new and something old, eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) the large Internet trading platform competes more each day with Craigslist, who's platform continues to unfold. They are very much the same, and oh so different, too. Craigslist has been resisting becoming eBay in too many ways, yet eBay has gone through the back door to acquiring partial ownership and tracking a competitive threat from the inside.

Being public, eBay must disclose its financial information, which is not true for the private Craigslist. Craigslist is not happy about eBay's ownership position, and for its part eBay has sued Craigslist. It says the board diluted its interest in the popular site by more than 10%, and the two have been trading accusations since.

For most of Craigslist's history there has been pressure to become public or sell itself outright or make the pursuit of profit a higher motive. That has been shunned in favor of slowly building a user friendly and practical Internet information trading platform.

It did not take long for Marvel Entertainment (NYSE: MVL) to announce the intended 2010 release of Iron Man 2. This came one day after Marvel reported its latest earnings and the spectacularly successful weekend debut of its newest hit movie.

Having seen Iron Man with the cast and crew -- a prejudiced crowd if there ever was one -- I can tell you it is worth catching Iron Man on the big screen.

Meanwhile, if you are a Marvel comics fan, as I was growing up, and can't wait for the sequel, let's hope that the June 13 premiere of the The Incredible Hulk tides you over until 2010. And then, starting with Iron Man 2, you can look forward to the gates opening wide for the pantheon of Marvel Super Heroes.

After yesterday's closing bell Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) reported strong earnings. Excluding nonrecurring items, Anadarko's earnings totaled $1.44 per share for the quarter. On average, analysts were expecting just $1.22 per share. When compared with last year, Anadarko's quarterly profit per share surged more than 40%.

Shares ended Monday at up $1.04 to $68.14, and rose over 10% today to $75.04 as oils prices continue to surge. It was only last week I posted Chasing Value: Anadarko (APC) up 75% -- hits new 52-week high but I guess it will move higher still.

The other good news is that it has more than halved its debt since acquiring Kerr-McGee IN 2006.