Wal-Mart

Berkshire reports a runner-up year

New subsidiary Burlington Northern chipped in big, but Buffett & Co. didn't beat the S & P 500's total return.

By Carol Loomis, senior editor-at-large

Berkshire Hathaway reported today that its per-share book value rose last year by 13%--a gain helped out by the banner results of Berkshire's early-2010 acquisition, Burlington Northern Santa Fe.

But Berkshire's 13% result lagged the 15.1% total return of the S & P 500, which is the performance indicator that MORE

Today in the Fortune 500: BP buys into Indian energy, Wal-Mart's same-store sales rut and Apple's new iPad delays

The Fortune 500 comes out just once a year, but the companies on it make headlines every day. Here then are today's highlights of news and happenings coming from the biggest names in business.

By Shelley DuBois, reporter

IN A VERY BRITISH MOVE energy giant BP (BP) announced plans to pay over $7 billion for stake in Reliance Industries, India's largest private oil company. The deal gives BP a 20 percent MORE

Today in the Fortune 500: Borders couldn't make good on GE loans, Google offers cheaper app plan than Apple and IBM's Watson wins Jeopardy

The Fortune 500 comes out just once a year, but the companies on it make headlines every day. Here then are today's highlights of news and happenings coming from the biggest names in business.

By Shelley DuBois, reporter

GE COULDN'T SAVE BORDERS from going bankrupt, which has left many publishers with a huge financial hole. Part of the problem was that Borders lagged behind other retailers including Amazon (AMZN) and MORE

Today in the Fortune 500: Nokia defends Microsoft deal, Apple's new, cheap iPhone and JPMorgan gets social.

The Fortune 500 comes out just once a year, but the companies on it make headlines every day. Here then are today's highlights of news and happenings coming from the biggest names in business.

By Shelley DuBois, reporter

IT'S A GOOD DEAL, WE PROMISE Nokia is having to defend its recent deal with Microsoft (MSFT), which spooked investors who thought it might MORE

Today in the Fortune 500: Amazon grows at the cost of profit, Russian oil lures BP and Exxon and Apple, Netflix and Amazon out-stream major retailers.

The Fortune 500 comes out just once a year, but the companies on it make headlines every day. Here then are today's highlights of news and happenings coming from the biggest names in business.

By Shelley DuBois, reporter

THE COST OF GROWTH becoming clear at Amazon (AMZN), which reported better sales for this past year's holiday season than many of its competitors, but disappointing profit. While MORE

Wal-Mart's Mike Duke: Davos Man?

Mike Duke sees Wal-Mart (WMT) shoppers embracing smart phones. He "loves" his company's business in Mexico. And given Wal-Mart's history of buying the goods it sells in developing countries, especially China, he's even excited about the handful of U.S. products Wal-Mart is exporting to places like Japan and China.

Duke is attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, for the first time, yet another sign that the once-insular Wal-Mart is MORE

Today in the Fortune 500: Wal-Mart gets healthy, Goldman earnings disappoint and GM pushes high-tech image.

The Fortune 500 comes out just once a year, but the companies on it make headlines every day. Here then are today's highlights of news and happenings coming from the biggest names in business.

By Shelley DuBois, reporter

SAVE MONEY, EAT BETTER After discussing the plan with First Lady Michelle Obama, Wal-Mart will shift the food that it sells towards healthier products, cutting out refined MORE

Today in the Fortune 500: Apple's survival strategy, G.E. rising in Chinese skies and Blockbuster asks for more cash from creditors.

The Fortune 500 comes out just once a year, but the companies on it make headlines every day. Here then are today's highlights of news and happenings coming from the biggest names in business.

By Shelley DuBois, reporter

JOBS UPDATE Apple (APPL) will be financially fine during the time when COO Tim Cook temporarily takes the reins for ailing CEO Steve Jobs. But at some point, MORE

Today in the Fortune 500: GM makes a dent in its government debt, BP faces a lawsuit and Obama urges corporations to spend cash.

The Fortune 500 comes out just once a year, but the companies on it make headlines every day. Here then are today's highlights of news and happenings coming from the biggest names in business.

By Shelley DuBois, reporter

GM IS HALFWAY OUT OF DEBT to the US government, which sold the company back its preferred shares for $2.1 billion. Combined with the money made for taxpayers with GM's (GM) IPO earlier this month, MORE

Today in the Fortune 500: Yahoo's ego problem, Comcast starts to cut the cord and McDonald's vs. the food police.

The Fortune 500 comes out just once a year, but the companies on it make headlines every day. Here then are today's highlights of news and happenings coming from the biggest names in business.

By Shelley DuBois, reporter

YAHOO IS NOT THE ONLY SMART GUY, says the owner of most of Yahoo's Asian assets, billionaire Masayoshi Son, but the fact that it thought it was hurt the company. Son's assets combined with Yahoo's MORE