Because of his homespun folksy manner and affinity for See’s Candies, Warren Buffett has a reputation as a very loveable guy. Not so, some of the people who make him so rich.

As the “Empire State of Mind” beat filled the packed CenturyLink Arena in Omaha, the chorus slid in: “At Berkshire, financial strength is what dreams are made of, there’s nothing you can’t dooooo….” The white, middle-aged crowd of investors jammed. Is this is the humble setting from which champions arise?

Warren Buffett, the third-richest man in the world, is buying the Omaha World-Herald, his hometown newspaper. The purchase price has not been revealed. But even if it was, oh, $50 million, it would be a purchase for Warren Buffett approximately proportional to you buying a cheap pair of shoes.

• President Obama will propose new laws today to crack down on companies and wealthy individuals who use a variety of tax loopholes to move their assets offshore and avoid paying taxes. [WSJ, BN]
• Citigroup and Bank of America are both rumored to be working on plans to raise more than $10 billion in fresh capital a piece, although Bank of America is now denying that such a plan is underway. [FT, DB, BI]
• Questions are being raised about New York Fed chairman Stephen Friedman's ties to Goldman Sachs and possible conflicts of interest. [WSJ]

• Wall Street opened higher this morning after Wells Fargo predicted it would report a record $3 billion profit for the first quarter of 2009. [CNN, AP]
• You may soon be able to bail out America, too: The Obama administration is currently looking at ways to "give ordinary Americans a chance to profit from the bailouts that are being financed by their tax dollars." [NYT]
• Meredith Whitney has become as close to a household name as a banking industry analyst can get. But is she overhyped? [WSJ]

Who needs journalists, really? That's what Business Wire argues. Warren Buffett, the billionaire CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, picked up Business Wire in 2006. He claims not to be tech-savvy, but this investment suggests otherwise. Press releases distributed by Business Wire are picked up directly by services like Google News and Techmeme. As a source, Business Wire ranks 32nd on Techmeme's list — not a bad performance. Buffett also owns a large stake in the Washington Post Co. But if that goes bust thanks to the advent of online media, it seems like Buffett picked himself a nice hedge.

Google's stock price has passed the psychologically important but otherwise meaningless $600 barrier for the first time. Want some other high-flying tickers? Try the Washington Post Company at $803 or Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway — currently trading around $121,000 per share. Of course, despite the difference in absolute stock prices, Google and Berkshire Hathaway have roughly the same market capitalization — a perfect illustration of why the price of a stock, out of context, has no meaning.