The nation's second biggest railroad, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, is about to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. Berkshire's chairman, the investor (and Democratic supporter) Warren Buffett, announced the news this morning. Breaking news, so just a couple of quick thoughts after the jump.
Buffett's placing a big bet on an improving economy. Conventional wisdom holds that the transportation sector is a leading economic indicator: When the economy goes slack, transportation companies feel it first, and when things pick up, there's more traffic on the rails, roads and air lanes.
News of the BNSF deal comes a day afterThe Stanley Works announced that it's buying Black & Decker.That'll bring hand tools and power tools under common ownership.
We haven't heard much about mergers and acquisitions for a long time - really since the credit markets froze up after Lehman Brothers went under. All things being equal, mergers tend to nudge the stock markets upward. So . . let's go to the poll: