Barron's Picks And Pans: Berkshire Hathaway, Microsoft, Time Warner And More

This weekend's Barron's cover story presents the findings of the latest Energy Roundtable.

• Other featured articles examine the prospects for a tech giant's quantum computing efforts and an industry leader with little to fear from Amazon.
• Also, Warren Buffett's latest annual letter and how tax cuts are driving dividend hikes.

"2018 Energy Roundtable: Don't Give Up on Oil" by Lauren R. Rublin shows why the latest roundtable panelists now see upward pressure on crude prices. The article also offers eight intriguing picks in the oil patch, including Anadarko Petroleum Corporation APC and three master limited partnerships.

Andrew Bary's "Warren Buffett's Annual Letter: Buffett Laments High Price of Acquisitions" discusses why the closely followed annual letter from Berkshire Hathaway Inc. BRK CEO Warren Buffett avoids discussion of succession and notes the company's first insurance underwriting loss in 15 years, among other things.

In "Microsoft: We Have the Qubits You Want," Tiernan Ray takes a look at the progress that Microsoft Corporation MSFT has made in its plan to bring a real, commercial quantum computer designed for "solving real business problems" to market in five years. See what key advantages Microsoft has.

It is impossible to talk about shipping these days without talking about Amazon.com, according to "No Amazon Worries for FedEx" by Teresa Rivas. Shares of FedEx Corporation FDX have pulled back over worries about Amazon disruption, but is that just hyperbole, as at least one analyst suggests?

See also: Berkshire Hathaway's 2017: Tax Reform Windfall, Insurance Losses From Hurricanes, Younger Executives Promoted

In Bary's "Time to Consider Time Warner," see why Barron's believes shares of Time Warner Inc TWX look increasingly attractive, as the company's strong profit outlook should limit the downside if its merger deal with AT&T is blocked on antitrust grounds. Also, is David Einhorn due for a comeback?

"Tax Cuts and Confidence Drive Surge of Hikes" by Vito J. Racanelli points out that companies such as AbbVie Inc ABBV have been raising dividends in a very bullish climate. These moves have predictive power, powering the trend over subsequent quarters, Barron's said. See what other companies could follow as the year progresses.

Also in this week's Barron's:

• How we're all gun owners
• The danger of deficits in boom times
• Top stock picks for China's Year of the Dog
• Two hedge funds pick a fight in India
• Madison Avenue's comeback campaign
• What happens if Venezuela's oil output drops further
• How renewed stock volatility has beckoned day traders
• The VIX surge as a wake-up call for investors
• When Amazon's HQ2 comes to town

At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.

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