Buy Commodities, Sell Brands, Driverless Technology and Ebola

1. Buy Commodities, Sell Brands

Berkshire has a substantial interest in 10 of the top 100 most valuable brands in Millward Brown’s latest annual BrandZ survey, reflecting Mr Buffett’s penchant for enduring names such as Coca-Cola, American Express and Walmart. As he wrote in his 2011 letter to shareholders: “‘Buy commodities, sell brands’ has long been a formula for business success.”

Berkshire Hathaway was the name of the now defunct textiles company Mr Buffett acquired in the 1960s.

2. Driverless Technology

Driveless technology market is expected to grow rapidly. Exane BNP Paribas forecasts the market for automated and assisted driving technology will be worth some $25bn by 2020 and $57bn by 2025, compared with $6bn today.

3. Ebola

GENEVA (Kyodo) -- The death toll from the Ebola virus outbreak topped 4,000 by midweek, doubling in about a month, the World Health Organization said Friday.

     The pace of infection appears to be picking up in West Africa, while cases have been reported in the United States and Spain.

     The Ebola deaths totaled 4,033, up from the 3,000 threshold breached roughly two weeks earlier. Liberia reported 2,316 deaths, followed by Sierra Leone's 930 and Guinea's 778. Nigeria had eight deaths and the United States had one.

     The WHO counted a total of 8,399 cases. Senegal, Spain and the United States each reported one case and Nigeria had 20. The three most affected countries -- Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea -- accounted for the rest.