Palantir develops and provides software that enables customers from government agencies to commercial enterprises to integrate data for decision-making and operations at scale. The company initially provided its software to the U.S. intelligence services before broadening its customer base. 55% of company revenue is generated by its government segment and 45% from its commercial segment; 34% of revenue is generated outside the U.S. Palantir's class A shares trade publicly under the symbol PLTR. Palantir's super-voting class B and class F shares, held by insiders and founders, do not trade publicly. The company is effectively controlled by founders Alexander Karp, Stephen Cohen, and Peter Thiel through the super-voting class F shares that represent a 49.99% voting interest. Palantir was founded in 2003 and went public at $10 per share on September 30, 2020.

Stocks are up at midday on Thursday. President Trump announced that the U.S. and the UK have made an agreement on trade. Trade representatives from the U.S. and China are also slated to meet this weekend to work out trade terms. No surprise from the Fed yesterday. It left interest rates unchanged as expected. Chairman Powell says the Fed has a lack of clarity for the economy ahead. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note is 4.32%. Oil is at $59 per barrel.

Berkshire Hathaway is a holding company with a wide array of subsidiaries engaged in diverse activities. The firm's core business segment is insurance, run primarily through Geico, Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group, and Berkshire Hathaway Primary Group. Berkshire has used the excess cash thrown off from these and its other operations over the years to acquire Burlington Northern Santa Fe (railroad), Berkshire Hathaway Energy (utilities and energy distributors), and the companies that make up its manufacturing, service, and retailing operations (which include five of Berkshire's largest noninsurance pretax earnings generators: Precision Castparts, Lubrizol, Clayton Homes, Marmon, and IMC/ISCAR). The conglomerate is unique in that it is run on a completely decentralized basis.

Berkshire Hathaway is a holding company with a wide array of subsidiaries engaged in diverse activities. The firm's core business segment is insurance, run primarily through Geico, Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group, and Berkshire Hathaway Primary Group. Berkshire has used the excess cash thrown off from these and its other operations over the years to acquire Burlington Northern Santa Fe (railroad), Berkshire Hathaway Energy (utilities and energy distributors), and the companies that make up its manufacturing, service, and retailing operations (which include five of Berkshire's largest noninsurance pretax earnings generators: Precision Castparts, Lubrizol, Clayton Homes, Marmon, and IMC/ISCAR). The conglomerate is unique in that it is run on a completely decentralized basis.