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Published Tuesday, May 17, 2016, in Vol. 17, No. 96
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San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, May 17, 2016, Vol. 17, No. 96
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Go to Page 5 HERE! Go to Page 6 HERE! Sports is HERE! Opinion is HERE! Classifieds are HERE! Plus useful links |
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British firm awarded Orotina airport job By the A.M. Costa
Rica staff
The British firm of Británica MOTT Mac Donald has been picked to prepare a master plan for the proposed Orotina international airport. The firm was among 12 bidders, and the announcement of the successful firm was Monday. This is a $1.5 million contract being paid by the regional airport safety agency. The British firm is expected to help Costa Rican officials pick exactly where the airport will be located and to sketch out designs for the terminal and other facilities. The Orotina airport is expected to be twice the size of Juan Santamaría airport in Alajuela with 20 boarding ramps and two runways each three miles long. Costa Rican officials hope to open the airport sometime before 2030. Turrialba volcano has another eruption By the A.M. Costa
Rica staff
The Turrialba volcano erupted again Monday shortly before noon, but experts keeping an eye on the mountain could not see it due to clouds at the summit of the mountain. But they were able to see the ash that fell on nearby communities and also determined that the column of ash and vapor was headed to the northwest, as usual. The Red Sismológica Nacional Costa Rica said that visibility improved around 3 p.m. and the cameras at the summit were able to show the emission of ash. The Red said that the ash was not concentrated but that it was continuing. Legislature approves treaty against racism By the A.M. Costa
Rica staff
Lawmakers approved for the second and final time Monday a bill that brings Costa Rica into an interAmerican treaty against racism and discrimination. The vote was unanimous. Maureen Clarke Clarke, head of the Partido Liberación Nacional in the legislature, said that the treaty establishes duties for the Costa Rican state to eliminate and sanction various forms of discrimination. The treaty covers both public and private acts. The treaty also creates an interAmerican committee to monitor adherence.
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A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page |
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San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, May 17, 2016, Vol. 17, No. 96
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Back in business
The rains have returned, and farmers, ranchers and many other residents are happy. In Pavona de Pococí the transport service to Tortuguero is back in business after a four-day halt due to low water. The trip is on the rios Suerte and Tortuguero. The Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes said the boats which carry passengers and cargo began working at 5:30 a.m Monday. |
 Ministerio de Obras
Públicas y Transportes photo
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| Las
Catalinas says it was not the firm involved in a Sala IV
water case |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The management of Las Catalinas in Playa Potrero says its project was not the development involved in a Sala IV decision that was the topic of a news story Monday. Michael García Rojas, Catalina’s director of environmental and community matter, said that the court decision, issued Friday, involves another, unrelated project. The news story was based on a Poder Judicial news release, although the judiciary did not name specifically the development involved. In the decision, the Sala IV constitutional court declined to order a local water company to provide service to a development in Playa Potrero. The Poder Judicial released a short summary Friday that said although there is a fundamental right to drinking water, the local utility does not have to provide services if there are technical reasons in the way. The court also said that the denial of water |
service
was fully justified due to the fragility and
vulnerability of the aquifer in the area. Exploiting the
aquifer, the underground water source, might cause the
intrusion of salt water, it said. The court magistrates
stressed the need to take preventative measures to avoid
contamination of the aquifer. The water in this area of Santa Cruz is provided by an asociación administrador de sistemas de acueductos y alcantarillados sanitarios, basically a local organization. “It is important to notice that the document refers to a residential condominium in the Potrero area, where there are many of these and that Las Catalinas is never mentioned in it, it is important to notice that the document refers to a residential condominium in the Potrero area, where there are many of these and that Las Catalinas is never mentioned in it,” García said correctly of the Poder Judicial summary. “Las Catalinas has never promoted nor encouraged any action against the development and welfare of any nearby community. Any suspicion in relation to this topic is invalid and purposefully misleading,” the firm said in an earlier statement. |
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A.M. Costa Rica's Fourth News page |
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San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, May 17, 2016, Vol. 17, No. 96
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| Special
program seeks to change student attitudes about math |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Fear of math may have a lot to do with early education, but there is no doubt that many Americans and Costa Ricans avoid the subject as much as they can. Tecnológico de Costa Rica says that only 60 percent of would-be Costa Rican high school graduates pass the math section of the bachillerato exam. By contrast, the Ministerio de Educación Pública has reported that nine out of 10 students pass the Spanish exam and the social studies exam. Tecnológico de Costa Rica created the math help program in 2014 to give high schoolers a way to pass the bachillerato and to achieve success in university admissions tests. Tecnológico, one of the country’s public universities, is heavy with courses and programs that require good backgrounds in math. One Tecnológico teacher, Nelson Ramírez, blames social prejudices for students rejecting math. He asserts that math really is not difficult. Ramírez is involved in the Cartago university’s Programa de Apoyo a la Educación Matemática. He also is a student in the teacher training program for presenting math via computers. He said that the key to success for any student is attitude. |
 Tecnológico
de Costa Rica photo
A math help class is in progress.So far 800 students in their last year of secondary or technical school have benefited. The program started in Limón and then spread to Osa, Guanacaste, San José and San Carlos. Each class has nine or 10 students. There is a special word for fear of math: Arithmophobia. And those afflicted sometimes are unable to follow the career of their choice. Eight teachers in the program, including Ramírez, present two-hour courses twice each Saturday in various schools. |
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A.M. Costa Rica's Fifth news page |
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San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, May 17, 2016, Vol. 17, No. 96
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called contrary to treaties By the Canadian Medical
Association Journal news staff
The Canadian government's plan to legalize marijuana contravenes its current legal obligations to the United Nation's international drug-control conventions, states a commentary in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. "The federal government should immediately take proactive steps to seek a reservation to the marijuana provisions of these treaties and/or to initiate their renegotiation in light of its legalization plans," wrote Steven Hoffman and Roojin Habibi, both with the Global Strategy Lab at the University of Ottawa's Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics. "If these diplomatic efforts fail, Canada must formally withdraw from these treaties to avoid undermining international law and compromising its global position." Three legally binding international treaties control or prohibit access to various drugs around the world, including marijuana. Other jurisdictions, such as Colorado and Washington in the United States and Uruguay, have legalized marijuana and violate current U.N. conventions. The authors suggest that the most feasible option for Canada is to withdraw from these treaties. The federal government could then fulfill its campaign promise to legalize marijuana without violating international law. "Formally withdrawing from outdated treaties like these is a country's sovereign right. It may also be a moral duty if the government believes the conventions' required policies are harmful," state the authors. U.S. Supreme Court dodges Obamacare-religion issue By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
Sister Loraine stood outside the U.S. Supreme Court last March and rejected the Obama administration's offer of compromise. The mother provincial for the Little Sisters of the Poor joined several other religious nonprofits across the country to tell the world she refused to fill out a form that would release her from the obligation to pay for insurance coverage of employees' contraceptive use. She said the form was not, as the government claimed, an accommodation of her religious beliefs but rather a compromise of her conscience. The highest court in the land sought yet another opportunity for compromise Monday, sending the Little Sisters' case back to the lower courts for a decision that could ultimately satisfy both sides in a divisive election year battle. "It's a compromise and a non-decision," said Steve Vladeck, professor of law at the American University Washington College of Law. "It's a result of an evenly divided court on the merits and so the justices found a way to basically make the case go away without endorsing the other side's position," he said. The court's opinion in Zubik v. Burwell, a consolidation of cases filed by religious nonprofits that objected to the Obama administration's mandate for contraceptive funding under the Affordable Care Act, was just the latest development in a long-running battle. "The government is requiring us to include services in our religious health care plan that violate some of our deepest held religious beliefs," Sister Loraine wrote in a statement earlier this year. She was objecting not only to the coverage, but also to the accommodation created by the administration that would have allowed religious organizations to file a form saying contraceptive coverage violated their religious beliefs. This option would have opened the door for the government and insurance companies to separately arrange for coverage of the employee's contraceptive use. Sister Loraine and other religious organizations continued with their lawsuits, saying their religious freedom was still being violated due to the fact that employees were receiving coverage of contraceptives. The court's unsigned opinion declined to consider the case on its merits, but the move was still analyzed for possible signs of victory or defeat on both sides. "We're seeing the Supreme Court knock it back to the lower courts because in some way the idea is that we need to reach an accommodation with these businesses," said Jon O'Brien, president of Catholics for Choice, an organization that supports women's rights to follow their conscience in matters of sexuality and reproductive health. O'Brien said he was disappointed by the court's failure to stand up for the individual, conscience-based rights of workers." He said that "the idea that an employer can have a say in what benefits you can or cannot get, based upon their personal views on sex, sexuality or religion, I think that ultimately that is a very slippery and a very dangerous slope to go down." But compromise in the heated battle over reproductive rights could be a victory. "The court is calming things down and using a common sense approach," said Chad Pecknold, an associate professor at the Catholic University of America, who studies the intersections between religion and culture. Pecknold said the return to the lower courts could favor the case brought by the Little Sisters and other religious organizations. He said changes in the way the government has argued its case necessitated the return to the lower courts so that new compromises could be considered. "It's a prudential win for religious liberty," he said. Ultimately, the move back to the lower courts may push the government to "work out some kind of arrangement with insurance companies so that the employees of these religious groups can be covered by the contraceptive mandate without any involvement from their employers," Vladeck said. He added, "If that can happen, then I think these cases will all be dismissed." House Speaker Paul Ryan called for an end to the battle in a statement released in response to the court's opinion. "The Sisters deserve relief from this mandate, and an end to this ordeal," Ryan said. "The administration should resolve this as soon as possible." The court's opinion was noticeably impacted by the absence of a ninth Supreme Court justice, due to the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February. While the case will answer key questions about the debate over religious freedom and women's health in this country, it also highlights the stalemate of election year politics. "I don't think there's any question that if Justice Scalia had been involved in this case, the matter would have gone to the merit and we would be talking about a very important ruling one way or another on religious freedom," Vladeck said. Scalia was a strong conservative voice on the court and could have tipped the balance for a 5-4 decision in favor of the religious organizations. The court could be reluctant to rule on controversial cultural issues of this import without a full group of justices. If the lower courts do not reach a satisfactory decision for both sides, the lawsuits would not make their way back to the Supreme Court until well after the fall presidential election, which will likely resolve the impasse on the appointment of a ninth justice. "Here's yet another indication of what happens when a Supreme Court is evenly divided," Vladeck said. Amtrak train crash blamed on a distracted engineer By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
A U.S. federal investigation into last year's deadly train derailment in Philadelphia has concluded that the engineer was distracted, according to officials close to the investigation. Officials say train engineer Brandon Bostian was distracted by radio conversations between trains and dispatchers about trains being hit by rocks, prior to the May 2015 crash that killed eight people and injured more than 200 others. The National Transportation Safety Board is expected to announce its findings at a public meeting today in Washington. Bostian, who suffered a concussion in the crash, told investigators he has little memory of what occurred prior to the accident. Investigators say they found no evidence the engineer was using a cellphone, or alcohol or drugs. The Amtrak passenger train was traveling from Washington to New York when it derailed along a curve of track in Philadelphia while traveling at more than 160 kilometers per hour, more than twice the speed limit. U.S.Senate is facing options on paying for zika campaigns By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
The U.S. Congress is set this week to consider several measures to pay for research into a vaccine for the deadly zika mosquito virus and a plan to control mosquitoes that spread the disease. The question remains, however, how much lawmakers are willing to spend to curb the virus that can cause the birth defect microcephaly, which leaves babies with small heads and deformed brains and impairs growth. Three months ago, President Barack Obama proposed a $1.9 billion plan to develop a vaccine, control the mosquitoes and help other countries fight the virus. But his Republican opponents in Congress said that was too costly and balked at approving it. Republicans in the House of Representatives offered a $622 million proposal Monday for vaccine development and international mosquito control. The Senate is planning to start voting today on Obama's plan, a competing Republican alternative and a compromise measure costing $1.1 billion. Even if these measures clear the two chambers, the outlines for a final accord are not clear. To date, there have been more than 500 cases of zika contamination in the United States, all of which so far have been associated with overseas travel. Last week, Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory in the Caribbean Sea, reported its first case of zika-borne microcephaly. Urban U.S. murder spike generates mixed opinions By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
Federal law enforcement authorities are trying to figure out why there has been a recent spike in homicides in more than two dozen U.S. cities. Data released recently by the Major Cities Chiefs Association show first-quarter homicides increased in about half of the 63 police departments represented in the report over the same period a year ago. The other law enforcement agencies said homicide rates remain unchanged or below last year's levels. There were sharp increases in homicides in Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Authorities had no definitive explanation for the uptick. "I don't know what the answer is, but holy cow, we do have a problem," FBI Director James Comey told reporters in Washington. Comey suggested the homicide increases may be due to what has become known as the Ferguson effect, a term that spread after a white police officer fatally shot an unarmed African-American assailant, 18-year-old Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014. The killing, and the protests that followed, helped usher in a new era of police scrutiny, which Comey believes has made police less aggressive. Darrel Stephens, executive director of the group that released the report, acknowledged that Comey is "not the only one that has that perspective. But, he added, "it's not one that I share." The FBI director's remarks also drew reaction from White House press secretary Josh Earnest, who, during a briefing with reporters Friday, said, "This administration makes policy decisions that are rooted in evidence, that are rooted in science." Earnest said that while homicides have undoubtedly increased in some U.S. cities, "There's no evidence at this point to link that surge in violent crime to the so-called viral video effect, or the Ferguson effect." Other law enforcement officials and criminologists are unsure as to why there were sharp spikes in homicides in some cities but say they believe contributing factors include a rise in heroin addiction and the accessibility of illegal guns by gang members. Still, other experts have maintained that conclusions cannot be reached because the data represent only the first three months of 2016 and, despite the recent increase, homicides remain at historic lows. Stephens emphasized that the numbers do not provide a nationwide snapshot of homicides because the information was compiled from 63 police agencies that represent only the largest cities and counties in the United States. In the cities that saw the greatest surges in homicides, many were concentrated in certain neighborhoods and, thus "a problem most of America can drive around," Comey said. "It's happening in certain parts of the cities, and the people dying are almost entirely black and Latino men, and we can't drive around that problem." Obama bathroom decree aggravates conservatives By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
Conservative critics are sharply attacking a new edict from President Barack Obama's administration that transgender students in the United States be allowed to use the bathrooms that match their gender identity. "Texas is fighting this," declared Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a long-time Obama opponent. "Obama can't rewrite the Civil Rights Act. He's not a king." Another state leader, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, said, "I recommend that school districts disregard guidance on gender identification in schools." The country's Justice and Education departments last week issued what they described as a guidance to thousands of school districts around the country on how to treat transgender students and to deal with questions of what bathrooms they should use. The order came just days after the Justice Department and the eastern U.S. state of North Carolina sued each other over enforcement of a law in that state requiring transgender people use bathrooms that conform to their gender at birth. The country's top law enforcement official, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, said, "There is no room in our schools for discrimination of any kind, including discrimination against transgender students on the basis of their sex." Under the U.S. political system, many educational issues are decided at the state level of government, and more specifically by local school boards that govern schools in their communities. "This guidance gives administrators, teachers, and parents the tools they need to protect transgender students from peer harassment and to identify and address unjust school policies," Ms. Lynch said. But conservative leaders and lawmakers in the United States have long chafed at federal government orders issued during the seven-plus years Obama has been president as over-reaching control by Washington on policies they believe should be decided at the state or local level. Luther Strange, the attorney general in the southern state of Alabama, vowed to fight what he called the absurd Obama order. Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin said Obama "is intentionally dividing America by threatening to sue or withhold funding from our cash-strapped public schools if they do not agree with his personal opinion on policies that remain squarely in their jurisdiction. They should not feel compelled to bow to such intimidation." A prominent conservative Christian evangelist, Franklin Graham, said, "Who does President Barack Obama think he is? The sultan of Washington? Does he think he can just make a decree and we will bow down and simply obey? What about the privacy and protection of all the other students? Isn’t this discrimination against all of them?" "This opens up bathrooms to sexual predators and perverts," Graham said. The White House is defending the new mandate, with Obama spokesman Josh Earnest saying, "The foundation of this guidance is that people should not be discriminated against just because of who they are." First U.S. penis transplant disclosed by Boston patient By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
A Massachusetts man is recovering from the United States' first penis transplant, and doctors in Boston say they are cautiously optimistic he will make a full recovery. The patient, Thomas Manning, 64, lost his penis to cancer in 2012 and was given a new one last week thanks to an anonymous dead donor. Manning said he wanted to go public about his surgery, which took 15 hours, to encourage others who may be ashamed or humiliated by the loss of a sex organ. If all goes well, doctors say Manning will regain full urinary and sexual functions. They also say they want to ensure the operation is a success before they perform it on others, including wounded soldiers. The world's first successful penis transplant was undertaken last year in South Africa. It was tried in China about 10 years ago, but the patient asked doctors to remove the organ because he and his wife had psychological problems. Manning's doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital said his psychological state will play a big role in his recovery. "Emotionally, he's doing amazing," Curtis Cetrulo told a news conference Monday. "I'm really impressed with how he's handling things. … He wants to be whole again. He does not want to be in the shadows." The Boston Herald reported that Cetrulo was among the lead surgeons on a team of more than 50. Space station logs a record 100,000 orbits around earth By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
The International Space Station celebrated a major milestone Monday, 100,000 orbits. Those orbits around the globe add up to more than 4.6 billion kilometers or 10 round trips from Earth to Mars, according to NASA. Since the first module was launched 17 years ago, 222 astronauts and cosmonauts from the U.S., Canada, Russia, Europe and Japan have lived aboard the space station. Two Americans, three Russians and a British astronaut are currently up there, carrying out a variety of scientific experiments, including tests on mice that experts hope will one day prevent bones and muscles from weakening in space. Chinese online marketer blackballed over fakes By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
An anti-counterfeiting group on Friday suspended e-commerce giant Alibaba from its group after backlash from member companies that see the Chinese firm as the world's largest marketplace for fakes. In recent weeks Gucci America, Michael Kors and Tiffany have quit the U.S.-based International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition over Alibaba's presence among the group's ranks. The coalition also acknowledged conflicts of interest, admitting it failed to disclose to its board connections between Alibaba and the coalition’s president, Robert Barchiesi. Earlier in the day, The Associated Press reported that Barchiesi had stock in Alibaba, had close ties to an Alibaba executive and had used family members to help run the coalition. The coalition said it would hire an independent firm to review its corporate government policies. The Wall Street Journal reported that Alibaba’s China marketplaces handled $485 billion in merchandise volume in the financial year ending March 31, which analysts estimated was more than Amazon and eBay combined. Critics of the Chinese firm say Alibaba's sites are rife with fakes, which damage production companies' bottom lines, can harm consumers who unknowingly buy such products, and feed a vast underground money-laundering industry that supports criminal syndicates. "Whether or not we are a member of the IACC, we will continue our productive and results-oriented relationships with brands, governments and all industry partners,'' said Jennifer Kuperman, Alibaba's head of international corporate affairs. Trump tells British viewers he’s irked with their leaders By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
Donald Trump says he may end up having a bad relationship with British Prime Minister David Cameron. The prime minister called the presumptive Republican presidential nominee divisive, stupid and wrong for proposing a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States. "It looks like we are not going to have a very good relationship, who knows?" Trump told Britain's ITV network Monday. "I hope to have a good relationship with him, but it sounds like he is not willing to address the problem either." Cameron denounced Trump's stance on Muslims entering the U.S. last December, with Trump offering his proposal after terrorist attacks by Muslims killed 130 people in Paris and 14 in San Bernardino, California. "Well, number one, I'm not stupid, OK? I can tell you that right now," Trump said. "Just the opposite. Number two, in terms of divisive, I don't think I'm a divisive person. I'm a unifier, unlike our president now, I'm a unifier." Britain and the United States have what they call a special relationship, but Cameron's office Monday refused to retract his earlier comments about Trump. The British leader has said that anyone who wins a major political party presidential nomination in the United States deserves respect. Trump surged to the top of the crowded Republican presidential field with his call for the Muslim ban, an idea he lately has been calling a suggestion, and plans to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. and to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border to halt the stream of immigrants entering the country. The brash Trump, a real estate billionaire making his first run for elected office, rejected claims that he is anti-Muslim. "Absolutely not. I am anti-terror," he said. In the interview, he also attacked London's new mayor, Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim elected to run a Western capital city. Khan branded Trump as ignorant on Islam and said he hopes he loses the U.S. election against his likely Democratic opponent, former U.S. secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Trump said he was offended by Khan's comments. "I think they were very rude statements and, frankly, tell him I will remember those statements. They are very nasty statements," Trump said. "When he won I wished him well. Now, I don't care about him." A Khan spokesman on Monday again described Trump's views as "ignorant, divisive and dangerous. It's the politics of fear at its worst and will be rejected at the ballot box." |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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Colorado S.A. 2016 and may not be reproduced anywhere
without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details |
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| A.M. Costa Rica sixth news page |
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San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, May 17, 2016, Vol. 17, No. 96
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Colombian police make a big coke haul By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
Colombian police Sunday said they had seized eight tons of cocaine from the country’s most active criminal syndicate, the Usuga clan. In a statement, police said they found the drugs hidden on a banana plantation near the border with Panamá in Colombia’s northwest Uraba region. "The biggest seizure of drugs in history. A hit against criminals," Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said on Twitter. Police said they arrested three people in the operation, but three more escaped. Defense Minister Luis Carlos Villegas said nearly 1.5 tons of the cocaine was packaged and ready to go. Each year, police said, the Usuga clan sends tons of cocaine into the United States. U.S. authorities have offered a $5 million reward for the capture of the gang’s leader. Colombia is the leading coca growing country in the world, and produces 442 tons of cocaine from the crop each year, according to the United Nations. Greece expects record number of tourists By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
Despite the ongoing migrant and refugee crisis, Greece expects to welcome a record 27 million tourists this year. “I think it’s an achievement given the fact that we have capital controls, we still have the refugee and migration crisis, which makes tourists think twice if they want to visit Lesbos or some other places that are migration hubs,” the government’s top spokesperson, Lefteris Kretsos told reporters Monday. “Greece is a brand name in tourism. It was always, and I think it will always be,” he added. In part, Greece could be seeing higher tourist numbers because of the political instability and terrorist attacks that have scared off international travelers from nearby Egypt and Turkey. Both of those nations have catered to millions of tourists in the past, but now have seen their numbers drop dramatically. Greece has suffered a prolonged economic crisis, but otherwise has remained safe and stable. Last year the country received some 26.5 million international visitors. “The biggest tourist agencies are confident about Greece,” said an upbeat Kretsos, who touted Greece’s many attractive qualities for tourists, including good weather, great food and ancient monuments. He also cited as enhancing Greece's international image is the way the country has handled the more than 1 million refugees and migrants who have arrived since 2015. “The fact that ordinary people have treated migrants with a lot of support is also something that I think attracts more people to visit Greece; it’s not an obstacle at the end of the day,” said Kretsos. Tourism is a key contributor to the Greek economy. According to the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises, it comprises more than 20 percent to the country’s gross domestic product and accounts for one out of every five jobs. |
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| From Page 7: Buffett picks up $1 billion in Apple shares By the A.M. Costa Rica
wire services
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett appears to be giving the slumping Apple stock a vote of confidence. The company he runs, Berkshire Hathaway, bought just over 9.8 million shares in the tech giant, according to regulatory papers released Monday. The average price paid was $109 a share. Apple shares are down 14 percent so far this year, and Buffett himself has already taken a loss on the purchase as shares are currently valued at just over $90. The shares did get a 2 percent bump in early trading Monday on the Buffett news. The billionaire investor has typically eschewed tech stocks, opting instead for blue chip companies like Kraft Heinz, Wells Fargo and Coca-Cola, among others. Despite the purchase valued at nearly $1 billion, Buffett’s exposure to Apple is relatively small by his standards. He also has holdings of IBM, which he has been accumulating over the past several years, and he is reportedly backing a bid to buy Yahoo. Buffett’s move is the opposite of investor Carl Icahn, who recently sold his firm’s entire stake in Apple. Icahn was reportedly concerned about the company facing stiff competition in China’s growing market. The big purchase and subsequent stock boost make Apple, at least temporarily, the most valuable company in the world, displacing Alphabet, which is the parent company of Google. |
