Warren Buffett has been throwing his money around in the past few months – and we in Baltimore are certainly aware of that.

The billionaire recently talked to Susie Gharib, anchor of the PBS show “Nightly Business Report” and opened up about his plans to do a buyback of Berkshire Hathaway stock. The interview airs in two parts on Thursday and Friday nights, but you can read some excerpts below, care of The New York Times’ blog DealBook.

Susie Gharib: What about Berkshire Hathaway stock? Were you surprised that it took such a hit last year, given that Berkshire shareholders are such buy and hold investors?

Warren Buffet: Well most of them are. But in the end our price is figured relative to everything else so the whole stock market goes down 50 percent we ought to go down a lot because you can buy other things cheaper. I’ve had three times in my lifetime since I took over Berkshire when Berkshire stock’s gone down 50 percent. In 1974 it went from $90 to $40. Did I feel badly? No I loved it! I bought more stock. So I don’t judge how Berkshire is doing by its market price, I judge it by how our businesses are doing.

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Constellation Energy Group’s shareholders may have thought they were getting a raw deal with the offer of $26.50 a share from MidAmerican Energy Holdings, but things haven’t been looking up since that deal went south about two weeks ago.

Shareholders seemed hell bent on getting more out of their stock — several filed lawsuits against Constellation, and there were rumblings that they might not approve the merger deal at a planned Dec. 23 shareholder vote — but it doesn’t seem like they’ll be getting much more in the near term.

One day after Constellation announced it was rejecting the MidAmerican takeover bid in favor of a nuclear partnership with Electricite de France, the Baltimore-based firm’s share price fell to $23.97, and has since lingered in the $24 to $25 range.

In the days leading up to Constellation’s split with MidAmerican, the stock climbed above $28 in anticipation of the break up, and hit $30.15 on the day of the announcement.

Paul Justice, an analyst with Morningstar Inc. in Chicago, told me it’s hard to compare the share price between then and now.

“You’ve extended the time horizon and basically made this a stock that’s going to sit on the market; before you had a time frame for an end date,” he said. “To reflect back on the trials and tribulations of 2008, you’re probably looking two or three years out to determine how well this worked out for Constellation,” he added.

If it takes that long to see this deal bear fruit, imagine how long it could take for investors to make their money back. I wonder if they’ll wait around long enough to find out.

DANIELLE ULMAN, Business Writer

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At first blush, French energy giant Electricite de France SA’s offer to block the sale of Constellation Energy seems to address the majority of the issues that led the company to accept a buyout from billionaire Warren Buffet’s MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co.

EDF has offered up a $4.5 billion deal, which includes a $1 billion cash infusion and the option for $2 billion more in cash if Constellation wants to sell non-nuclear assets. Plus, the deal is centered on creating a joint venture solely around Constellation’s nuclear energy business.

EDF even says its deal would overcome the break-up fees associated with the MidAmerican deal. The company says the $175 million termination fee is covered by the cash infusion and, considering the deal could be for as much as $6.5 billion altogether Constellation could also afford the “costly” 14 percent senior note attached to MidAmerican’s $1 billion cash infusion.

The board of directors of Constellation said it would review the deal, but did not make any immediate changes to its current recommendation for the MidAmerican deal. Will shareholders who have seen stock prices wither from $100-plus a year ago though be as willing to vote for the $26.50 per share MidAmerican deal?

Or, will the EDF deal prevail because it keeps the company a publicly traded one, and could give shareholders the chance to recoup some losses?

BEN MOOK, Assistant Business Editor

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Constellation Energy Group Inc. has made another Top 10 list, but this time it’s not such an honor. The Multinational Monitor has ranked Baltimore-based Constellation in the “10 Worst Corporations of 2008,” along with corporate giants AIG, Dole, General Electric and Phillip Morris International.

The group, which tracks corporate activity with a focus on the health and safety of workers, the environment and labor union issues, cited Constellation’s desire to build more nuclear power plants as a big no-no because of the financial and safety risks associated with them.

Constellation also ruffled some feathers at the Multinational Monitor when it threatened to sue the state earlier this year. It seems as though that might be the move that landed the company on the list, because of the $187 million settlement with the state that followed.

“The deal also included regulatory changes making it easier for outside companies to invest in Constellation — a move of greater import than initially apparent. In September, with utility stock prices plummeting, Warren Buffet’s MidAmerican Energy announced it would purchase Constellation for $4.7 billion, less than a quarter of the company’s market value in January,” the report read.

What do you think? Does Constellation deserve to sit among the 10 worst corporate offenders or has the Multinational Monitor gone overboard?

DANIELLE ULMAN, Business Writer

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Competition abounded last week and weekend at the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship — and it wasn’t just on the golf course.

Tournament director Steve Schoenfeld said ticket sales were down about 2 to 3 percent this year compared to 2007, but said the number of people who came during the four days actually seemed like less (according to Schoenfeld it is PGA policy not to release the tournament’s final figures). He attributed the slight dip in sales to the economy but said the actual attendance numbers were more likely a result of scheduling conflicts.

“You had the [Yom Kippur] holiday last Thursday and Columbus Day today, and I think a lot of people took that opportunity to travel and make it a five-day weekend,” Schoenfeld said Monday. “Accompanied with the fact that the Ravens were playing at 1 p.m. Sunday, even though they were on the road, I think that may have kept people at home, too.”

He said having fewer people attend the tournament even though those tickets were sold still makes a difference “because more people brings more excitement, and that’s want we want to do.”

Overall though, he said the week-long event (including the two Pro-Am days) went well from an operational perspective and considering the tight purse strings of many corporations this year. As for Constellation’s impending buyout by MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. and who will have the title naming rights to the championship next year, Schoenfeld said “it’s kind of a ‘wait and see’ with us.”

As for the actual play on the course, competition was tighter this year with D.A. Weibring finishing at nine under par and beating out Maryland native Fred Funk (shown on the 18th fairway) by one shot. Loren Roberts, who won last year’s championship by five strokes, finished in 21st place at even par.

The play may have been more exciting this year but do you think this year’s should be a warning sign for next year?

LIZ FARMER, Business Writer

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The golf pros are vying for a $390,000 grand prize. Local charities hope to benefit to the tune of $100,000 each. Corporations and businesses are shelling out anywhere from $850 to $82,000 to catch the eye of thousands of spectators.

But arguably the biggest winner of the Constellation Energy Senior Players Tournament — financially anyway — is the Baltimore region.

“Viewing this program [on television], you hear Baltimore, Baltimore, Baltimore,” said Nancy Hinds, vice president of public affairs of the Baltimore Area Convention & Visitors Association. “You can’t even put a financial dollar value on it… It’s hours and hours worth of exposure that the cost of advertising for would be in the millions and millions, and we could never afford to pay for that.”

The festivities officially begin today with the Bechtel Power Grand Champions Pro-Am tournament and championship play is Thursday through Sunday. Televised from the Baltimore Country Club in Timonium on the GOLF channel and NBC for nine hours over four days, Hinds said the cutaway shots of the country club, Baltimore City and the audio mentions promote the area as a tourist destination.

“Every time a national network covers a sporting event in Baltimore and Baltimore is on the national stage, it just makes people tune in and take notice that these events are here,” she said. “People will want to visit a city that’s exciting and new and happening.”

Does national exposure like this make residents proud to call Baltimore their hometown? Or do you just see the road closures and television vans as a hindrance to your daily life?

LIZ FARMER, Business Writer

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It looks like the city is losing another corporate headquarters with today’s announcement that Warren Buffet’s MidAmerican Energy Holdings will buy Constellation Energy Group.

Constellation was No. 117 on the Fortune 1,000, by far the biggest company in Baltimore, and the second biggest in the state, behind No. 57 Lockheed Martin.

The next biggest companies in the city are Legg Mason (No. 524) and T. Rowe Price (No. 831). In the Baltimore area, Black & Decker (No. 372), W.R. Grace (No. 657) and McCormick & Cos. Inc. (No. 689) make the list.

What — if anything — can the city and state do to stop the outflow of corporate headquarters?

ED WALDMAN, Managing Editor/Business

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Constellation Energy Group Inc. has landed on the 100 Best Corporate Citizens 2008 list, published by Corporate Responsibility Office magazine.

The Baltimore-based utility company ranks 55th on the list, leading to some questions about what constitutes a good corporate citizen.

Just how does CRO select its top performers? And, should a company that just filed suit against its home state be considered a good corporate citizen?

CRO said it worked with IW Financial, a research firm that specializes in environmental, social and governance issues, to rank large-cap companies from the Russell 1000 index in eight categories: climate change, employee relations, environment, financial, governance, human rights, lobbying and philanthropy.

When asked about the company’s recent lawsuit against the state, CRO’s Editor & Chief Dennis Schaal said without knowing the specifics of the case, he couldn’t say whether suing the state makes you a bad corporate citizen.

“We looked into major transgressions. I wouldn’t say that suing the state in and of itself is a violation of being a good corporate citizen,” Schaal said. “That certainly wasn’t on our radar.”

“Our vendor looked at major scandals that had taken place regarding people on the list and that one wasn’t brought up,” he said. “I’m sure some people are weighing in on [the list] and saying, ‘Wow that sucks.’”

So, what do you think? Should Constellation’s lawsuit against the state disqualify it from the 2009 list?

DANIELLE ULMAN, Business Writer

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