Davis Wilson:

No Buffett. No Munger. Now What?

This weekend, Berkshire Hathaway held its first ever annual shareholder meeting in Omaha without Warren Buffett running the show. Instead, Greg Abel took the stage as CEO and walked investors through the business. That might not sound like a big deal. But it is.

Because for 60 years, Berkshire's returns were driven by one man. Now he's not there. And that changes the way you should think about Berkshire Hathaway.

Abel, 63, is a Canadian-born executive who built his reputation running Berkshire's energy business. He joined the company in 1999 and steadily worked his way up, eventually becoming CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy – one of the largest utility businesses in the U.S.

Like Buffett, Abel isn't flashy. Unlike Buffett, he's not a stock picker. Instead, he's an operator. That's the key shift from Buffett. If Berkshire leans more into operations, you may get more consistency… But it could also mean lower long-term returns.

Berkshire Hathaway is no longer being driven by a once-in-a-generation investor. It's now being run by a disciplined operator. That doesn't make it worse. But it does make Berkshire a very different company today.

And as an investor, that's a shift you need to understand.

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James Altucher:

Trump Admin Moves Further Into AI Oversight, Will Test Google, Microsoft and xAI Models

The Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI) on Tuesday announced agreements with Google DeepMind, Microsoft, and Elon Musk's xAI that will allow the U.S. government to evaluate artificial intelligence models before they are publicly available.

CAISI, which sits under the U.S. Department of Commerce, will "conduct pre-deployment evaluations and targeted research to better assess frontier AI capabilities and advance the state of AI security," according to a release.

The announcement builds on CAISI's previous partnerships with OpenAI and Anthropic from 2024. Those agreements have been renegotiated to reflect CAISI's directives from the Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and America's AI Action Plan.

Beyond CAISI's announcement on Tuesday, the White House has been weighing the creation of a new AI working group that would explore potential oversight procedures, including plans to vet models before they're released to the public, CNBC confirmed.

The working group would bring together a variety of tech executives and government officials, according to a source close to the discussions who asked not to be named because the details are confidential. The group may be established through an executive order.

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Greg Guenthner:

Bitcoin Passes $81,000 As Optimism Builds

Bitcoin not only broke the $80,000 level but hit $81,600 Tuesday morning, its highest point since late January. Optimism for progress on the CLARITY Act, as well as the Iran ceasefire holding despite tensions, are among the factors driving this rally.

Rajiv Sawhney, head of international portfolio management at Wave Digital Assets, said bitcoin's move was "very simple."

"De-escalation on the U.S.-Iran situation in the short term. Until we get more clarity on whether the attack on U.S. warships will escalate, I think in general risk assets will trade heavily," Sawhney said.

Another positive indicator for bitcoin is the declining ratio of short-term holder to long-term holder supply, indicating a more stable market shaping up.

Bitcoin ETFs, another support for bitcoin's price, remain strong, with $532.21 million in inflows on Monday, making their total for May $1.16 billion, according to SoSoValue.

Sentiment is cautiously optimistic. Max Kahn, CEO of Digital Wealth Partners, said that breaking through $80,000 is one thing, but holding it will depend on whether the current drivers remain intact – namely, ETF inflows and a supportive macro backdrop.

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