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Buffett Effect Still Holds as UnitedHealth Soars Through August
(Bloomberg) -- The Warren Buffett effect is proving true once again, spurring UnitedHealth Group Inc.'s reversal this month and giving the Dow Jones Industrial Average a push toward its first closing high since last year. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway revealed last week that it bought a stake in the health insurer in the second quarter. UnitedHealth shares, which lost more than 50% from the start of 2025 through the end of July, have been on a tear this month, rising more than 20% in August alone and far outperforming any other company in the blue-chip index during that stretch. Why New York City Has a Fleet of New EVs From a Dead Carmaker Chicago Schools Seeks $1 Billion of Short-Term Debt as Cash Gone Trump Takes Second Swing at Cutting Housing Assistance for Immigrants A Photographer's Pipe Dream: Capturing New York's Vast Water System A London Apartment Tower With Echoes of Victorian Rail and Ancient Rome The stock has added more than 300 points to the Dow in August, accounting for more than 40% of its monthly gain. It has been a welcome boost for the stock-price-weighted benchmark, which hit an intraday record on Tuesday but has yet to close at a new all-time high and has been trounced by other major equity indexes, like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, this year. 'There wasn't a single piece of good news basically this whole year specific to UnitedHealth,' Morningstar analyst Julie Utterback said. 'So having a company like Berkshire Hathaway investing competitively in a managed firm that was attractively valued, that's really a nice vote of confidence.' NOTE: Aug. 15, UnitedHealth Surges After Buffett, Tepper Bet on Turnaround (2) The 'Buffett Effect' essentially refers to a stock market phenomenon where share prices rise when the legendary investor takes a stake and fall when he exits a position. In this case it's notable because until very recently UnitedHealth was the biggest drag on the Dow this year. Then it reversed direction and quickly went from worst to first. 'Really Tough Year' 'Investors in UnitedHealth have had a really tough year,' said Utterback, who tracks the stock's decline to early December, when former executive Brian Thompson was fatally shot outside an investor conference in New York. The stock is still down 40% in 2025 and is trading at a little more than $300. Utterback has a buy rating and $400 price target on the shares. Thompson's murder, which was a targeted attack aimed at UnitedHealth's leadership, helped send the Dow on its longest losing streak since the 1970s. At the same time, the insurer's stock fell from the biggest weight in the 30-member index to seventh. But since the Berkshire Hathaway stake was revealed after the market closed on Aug. 14, Wall Street has turned incrementally positive on UnitedHealth. And more broadly, investors are starting to see some momentum from the entire health-care sector. Jonathan Krinsky, chief market technician at BTIG, says he's 'sticking with health care for a more defensive posture' and because it's the best-performing sector in the market in August.A As for UnitedHealth, it may be more attractive as a longer-term position. 'If you can take a five-year view (on UnitedHealth), you likely will do well,' analysts at BofA Securities wrote in a note to clients on Monday that was subtitled 'Berkshire is in, should you be?' The bank raised also its price target on the stock to $325 from $290. And when it comes to dragging the Dow to a new closing high, the company still needs some help. 'The rest of the stocks still need to be able to rally,' said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co., though he added that removing the biggest drag on the index is a positive sign. 'The DJIA is something the individual investor watches more closely than the pros.' Foreigners Are Buying US Homes Again While Americans Get Sidelined What Declining Cardboard Box Sales Tell Us About the US Economy Women's Earnings Never Really Recover After They Have Children Survived Bankruptcy. Next Up: Cultural Relevance? Americans Are Getting Priced Out of Homeownership at Record Rates ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
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Historic baseball field, green space in growing West Greenville targeted for new housing
The Greenville County Redevelopment Authority is one step closer to building affordable housing in a historic part of West Greenville that has seen tremendous growth in recent years. The redevelopment authority has its sights set on two plots of land near the historic Woodside Cotton Mill, totaling 10.9 acres. One plot is an abandoned baseball field with stone amphitheater seating and overgrown dugouts, while the other is a raw plot of greenspace. Shelly Grice is a longtime resident of West Greenville in the Woodside Mill area. She has lived in the same house for 42 years, which was in her family for generations. More: For real this time? Woodside Mill to become apartments Grice sees the need for more affordable housing in the area, but isn't sold on new development, especially in an area she says is already fast growing and packed to the brim. "We are on top of each other," Grice said. "I feel like we are swamped with regrowth and I feel they are doing too much too fast." Woodside Mills — deep roots in Greenville's industrial growth Brothers John, Edward, and J. David Woodside built the Woodside Cotton Mill in 1902. Housing and development boomed around the textile hub in the decades after its construction as workers and their families moved nearby. A neighborhood historical marker states that the mill village grew to house 2,400 workers in 442 homes by 1929. The area still has its historic notes, but the stark contrast between the new and old is apparent. Grice said she remembers a time when she and her neighbors paid about $450 a month to live in the area, but now the cost of living in the area has skyrocketed as new developments move in. "We feel smothered," Grice said. "How can they build when they are going to be cutting (off) people's routes to school or their way to work?" County moves forward with land transfer The Greenville County Council approved the transfer of roughly 11 acres of property in Woodside Mills to the Greenville County Redevelopment Authority on Aug. 19 with little discussion. The authority's vision is to turn the two plots of land into affordable housing. Greenville County Redevelopment Authority Executive Director Joe Smith said at a June county finance committee meeting that his agency is not considering a high-density development in the Woodside Mill village. Smith addressed some of the challenges of developing in the area, including limited infrastructure and low capacity for cars on neighborhood streets. "We're not going to have two or 300 cars dumped out here on these existing streets that can't handle it," Smith said. He added that there's no firm design plan in place, but any development would have minimal impact on the neighborhood. "We're looking for low impact on these neighborhoods," Smith said. "We are not trying to dump a bunch of people on their streets if they can't handle it. That's not being a good neighbor." Bella Carpentier covers the South Carolina legislature, state, and Greenville County politics. Contact her at bcarpentier@ This article originally appeared on Greenville News: New affordable housing could come to historic Greenville neighborhood Solve the daily Crossword
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As partisan redistricting battles flare, Maine constitutional officers weigh in
Voters cast their ballots at the Quimby School gymnasium in Bingham, Maine on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. (Photo by Michael G. Seamans/ Maine Morning Star) Since President Donald Trump asked Texas to redraw its congressional maps to find five more Republican seats ahead of next year's elections, some Democratic states are considering redistricting to counter the effort. Maine is not, at least according to Gov. Janet Mills, though an anonymous group tried to encourage the Pine Tree State to intervene earlier this month by flying planes over Augusta with banners that read 'Mess with Texas.' The state's constitutional officers, Attorney General Aaron Frey and Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, both Democrats, condemned Texas' move, and Trump instigating it, as a blatant abuse of power. But, they said Democratic states exploring the avenues legally available to them to redistrict outside the regular schedule is understandable. Bellows refrained from any judgement of those counter efforts, while Frey was more critical, particularly due to what he sees as a likely snowball effect. 'I am lamenting what this might mean for how our politics will continue, in terms of people trying to do the one-upsmanship,' Frey said in a sit-down with Maine Morning Star. 'As much as it probably sounds like it's a critique, it really is more of a concern about this being the evolution of where the politics is going.' The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the official party committee dedicated to electing Democrats to statehouses, called on Democrats on Aug. 4 to pursue redistricting opportunities to respond to possible changes to Texas' congressional map. Last week, California was the first state to release a proposal to that aim. Such ideas have also been floated by officials in New York, Maryland, and Illinois — whose governor has already waded into the redistricting battle by welcoming Texas Democrats who fled the state to block a vote on the Republican proposal. They've since returned. But, Republicans control more state legislatures than Democrats and Vice President JD Vance is touring those states to encourage more gerrymandering. Several, including Missouri, Florida and Indiana, are now considering redrawing their maps to counter the Democrats' countering. 'It should be a concern for all of us about what this means for the next time that the next majority is in power,' Frey said. 'I am hoping that I would have just as much concern if California would have been the first state to say that they were going to do this as I have about Texas saying that they're going to do this, even though it may be perfectly appropriate legally.' Redistricting procedures vary state by state but largely happen every ten years following new census data. Under the Maine Constitution, the state Legislature must establish a bipartisan advisory commission to draw its congressional and legislative districts every ten years. These maps are then sent to the Legislature for approval, though lawmakers aren't bound to those recommendations. Approval requires a two-thirds vote, and because neither party has held a supermajority in the last decade, this has typically required bipartisan support. The map is then subject to the governor's approval. Maine last went through this process in 2021. Mills did not respond to multiple requests for comment about whether she supports the actions other Democratic states are considering to redraw their maps in response to Texas Republicans' attempts. A spokesperson told the Portland Press Herald in early August that she was not considering any actions related to redistricting in Maine. If the Legislature is unable to reach the two-thirds threshold, the Maine Supreme Court would draw the maps instead. 'It's understandable that other states are seeking to fight fire with fire,' Bellows said, echoing California Gov. Gavin Newsom, 'but none of what's happening outside of Maine would change unless the Legislature and the people of Maine decided to pursue a constitutional amendment.' A constitutional amendment in Maine requires a two-thirds vote, plus approval by the voters, so such a change, especially before the 2026 midterms, is not likely. When asked if Maine should get involved in the nationwide redistricting fight, Frey said, 'No, not at this point.' As the officer representing the state on legal matters, Frey said he doesn't see an opportunity for legal recourse given that other states drawing congressional districts is a state-level process pertaining to their residents and it doesn't have a direct harm to Maine. However, how these maps ultimately shape Congress will inevitably impact Maine, he said, looking at a list on his desk of lawsuits Maine has filed or joined against the Trump administration. Particularly if Trump gets his way in Texas, Frey said it could result in a continuation of a Congress that doesn't serve as an adequate check to the executive branch. Some politicians are seeking to choose their voters instead of their voters choosing them. – Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows Like other Democrats across the country, Frey and Bellows walked a line to frame their party's use of redistricting differently than Republicans'. 'The Trump administration is trampling all over the norms in our democracy, and it is really important that people stand strong for our values in this moment,' Bellows said. 'What's concerning about what Texas is trying to do is they are basically trying to cheat their way into electoral success in 2026 and 2028, so it's understandable that some of the larger states that are blue states are thinking about how they might respond.' Of those clear political aims, Frey similarly said, 'There's no mask to it,' arguing it would be different if Texas had come to a conclusion that redistricting mid-cycle was needed because its districts were no longer representative due to population shifts or another clear reason. 'Let's say this was Joe Biden who in 2023 was like, 'California, Gavin Newsom, you like us, California does a lot of stuff that supports the administration, I need you to go redistrict and get me five more seats in Congress,'' Frey said. 'What would people say?' But while Frey said Democratic states may be legally within their right to explore counter measures, he doesn't see it as a productive way to resolve political discord nor address the priority issues of everyday Americans, such as the cost of living. 'If anything, it's creating a system that is going to be more unable to meet what it is that, I think, Mainers and the American people are asking for,' Frey said. As Trump eyes election changes, Secretary Bellows warns of fallout Earlier this month Bellows officially responded to the U.S. Department of Justice's request for sweeping voter data, questioning the federal agency's intentions and asking that the request be withdrawn. She sees a throughline with that effort, Trump's executive orders and his push for Texas Republicans to redistrict. 'Some politicians are seeking to choose their voters instead of their voters choosing them,' Bellows said. 'Many of these initiatives seem designed to shrink the population of people who are participating in elections, to spread fear and deter people from participating, or to create artificial barriers to participation.' Frey also sees connections. The day before speaking with Maine Morning Star, Frey had returned from a trip to Washington, D.C., where he saw National Guard troops and FBI agents gathered on the mall. 'They are pushing boundaries to see how far they can get,' Frey said of the administration. Pulling up the president's post on Truth Social ordering the U.S. Commerce Department to start working on a new U.S. Census that does not count people in the country illegally, Frey asked, 'What's the end?' He sees all of these moves as a test of the democratic foundation of the country, the U.S. Constitution. 'If enough citizens out there who are protected by this contract decide that they are unwilling to hold the president to the limitations that the constitution places on government action, I mean, at a certain point that contract by both parties is just going to dissolve,' Frey said. The book 'The Storm Before the Calm' sat on his desk as he added a hopeful nod, explaining the current moment could provide an opportunity to be reminded of the importance of those protections. The book, by geopolitical forecaster George Friedman, views American history through cycles, enduring upheaval and conflict but, ultimately, increasing in strength and stability. With 2026 on the horizon — when Maine's governorship, U.S. Senate seat, two U.S. House seats and Legislature are all up for reelection — Frey said, 'Maybe there will be an opportunity for renewal.' Time will tell how redistricting may play a part in that. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
