On November 29, 2023, it was reported, Charles Thomas "Charlie" Munger, best known as Warren Buffett's partner and vice chairman of investment firm Berkshire Hathaway, died Nov. 28 at the age of 99. He would have been 100 on Jan. 1. Munger is reported to have died peacefully at a hospital near his home in Los Angeles. Munger has served as Berkshire vice chairman since 1978, and news sources call him 93-year-old Buffett's right-hand man and sounding board. "Bershire Hathaway could not have been built to its present status without Charlie's inspiration, wisdom and participation," Buffett said in a Berkshire Hathaway release. Two other vice chairmen have the day-to-day oversight of Berkshire businesses: Greg Abel over non-insurance companies and Ajit Jain over insurance businesses. Berkshire Hathaway's furniture division which includes Nebraska Furniture Mart, RC Willey, Star Furniture and Jordan's Furniture was No. 7 on this year's Furniture Today Top 100 U.S. Furniture Stores. Munger was born in Omaha, Neb., on Jan. 1, 1924, to Alfred and Florence Munger. He attended the University of Michigan, but his studies there were interrupted by the attack on Pearl Harbor, and he enlisted in the Army Air Corps. During those years, he married Nancy Huggins, with whom he had three children. After his discharge from the Army in 1946, Munger went on to Harvard Law School, where he graduated with honors. He returned to California and began practicing law. He married again in 1956 to Nancy Barry Borthwick, and three years later met Buffett while lunching with a friend in Omaha. A friendship developed and then a partnership. Between 1965 and 2014, Berkshire Hathaway shares are reported to have posted annual gains averaging 21.6%.
On November 27, 2023, it was reported, third-generation home furnishings retailer Ruby-Gordon Home filed for Chapter 11 protection Nov. 20 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Western District of New York. Aaron Ruby, owner and CEO of the two-store, Rochester, N.Y.-based retailer, told Furniture Today that the filing is an effort to get back on track. He said pressures created during the pandemic, plus Klaussner's sudden closure earlier this year proved to be too much. "We've been struggling to recover since 2020. Unfortunately, in the past eight months, too much went sideways in too short an amount of time. Klaussner going out the way they did was the straw that broke our back," Ruby said. "We're hoping that Chapter 11 gives us a chance at having a future, we're just not certain exactly what that will look like." In the filing, Ruby-Gordon listed an estimated $1,000,001 to $10 million in total assets with $1,000,001 to $10 million in total liabilities to an estimated 100 to 199 creditors. Ruby-Gordon was founded in in 1936 by Frank Ruby. Six years later, he partnered with Ted Gordon. Ray Ruby, Frank's son served as second-generation owner and spearheaded the move to Henrietta, one of Rochester's suburbs, in the 1960s. Today, it is owned by Ray's son Aaron and his wife, Janetta Ruby, who represent the third generation of family ownership. In addition to its Henrietta flagship Ruby-Gordon has a second Rochester showroom in Greece Ridge.
On November 15, 2023, it was reported, Hapag-Lloyd, the fifth-largest ocean carrier in the world, reported income of $293 million for the third quarter, a 73% drop from last quarter's $1.1 billion and 94% down from the same time last year. "Freight rates are below the prior-year level and, as expected, fell again in the third quarter, which is reflected in much lower earnings," said CEO Rolf Habben Jansen in an earnings report. " I "We do not expect a dramatic recovery of demand in the next couple of quarters," he said. "The macro environment remains challenging, there are two wars going on, interest rates are still pretty high, inflation is higher than it should be, and investor sentiment is not great. It will be a challenging market, not only for the remainder of this year, but certainly also in 2024 and potentially a bit after that." According to FreightWaves, current rates in Asia-Europe and trans-Atlantic are at loss-making levels. Hapag-Lloyd has canceled four major East-West services as result. The shipper is no longer cancelling sailings on a weekly basis; instead it's opting to remove entire services from its network. New contracts for 2024 are being negotiated, with rates that could end up being significantly lower than this year, per FreightWaves, as spot rates are currently weak. Hapag-Lloyd isn't the only carrier feeling the heat. Maersk, the second-largest ocean carrier, also reported a major revenue decline (a $10 billion drop) in the third quarter compared with last year. The company is the midst of cutting 10,000 jobs, citing high uncertainty in the months ahead.
On November 9, 2023, it was reported, At the same time it released its third quarter earnings, Canadian retail group Leon's Furniture Limited announced that Mark J. Leon, its longtime chairman, is retiring from that position at the end of 2023. Leon, who has held the position for more than two decades, will continue to sit on the board as chairman emeritus. Terrence Leon, current vice chairman, will assume the title of chairman upon Mark Leon's retirement. Mark Leon issued a statement on his approaching retirement: "It has been an honor to serve as the chairman of Leon's for over 20 years. I am humbled by the faith, loyalty and trust that has been accorded to me by our company associates, management teams and our board of directors. Also, I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the unyielding support over many years from the entire Leon family. My heartfelt gratitude goes out to each and every one of them. "Our board has decided that Terrence Leon will assume the role of chairman, and Edward Leon will serve as vice chairman. For many years, Terrence and Edward have both demonstrated a fervent desire to increase our company's growth and shareholder value. We have every confidence that Leon's will continue to prosper under their stewardship. "Our CEO Mike Walsh and our CFO Costa Pefanis lead a truly capable management team. There is no denying we believe the best is yet to come. May God bless this truly great and iconic Canadian success story with continued good fortune." Terrence Leon thanked Mark Leon for his contributions as the company's chairman, saying, "Mark Leon is a truly inspirational leader for our company and our family. His strength, wisdom, goodwill and humility are examples we can only hope to emulate.
