Catch up on the weekend’s top five stories with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. Late Saturday morning, Associated Press reported that Democrat Joe Biden had defeated President Donald Trump to become the 46th president of the United States. His victory came after more than three days of uncertainty as election officials sorted through a surge of mail-in votes that delayed the processing of some ballots. Biden crossed 270 Electoral College votes with a win in Pennsylvania, the publication said. 2. Activist investor Elliott Management has taken a stake in F5 Networks (FFIV) and spoken to the software company’s management in recent weeks about ways to boost its lagging stock, The Wall Street Journal’s Corrie Driebusch reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The exact size of Elliott’s stake couldn’t be learned, though it falls below the 5% threshold that would require regulatory disclosure, the people said. 3. California voters passed Proposition 22 on Tuesday, which exempts ride-sharing and food-delivery companies from a state law that would have required them to classify their drivers as employees, rather than contractors, Eric Savitz wrote in this week’s edition of Barron’s. The Uber (UBER) and Lyft (LYFT) position their Prop 22 victory as a landmark win for drivers, the publication notes. Outside California, the vote might appear to be a victory for the tech business, demonstrating the average Californian’s admiration for innovative homegrown digital companies. But the proposition lost by a 60/40 margin in San Francisco, where the companies are based, and it also was defeated in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, which make up Silicon Valley, the author added. 4. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) reported third quarter earnings per share of $18,994 versus $10,119, and revenue for the quarter of $63.02B versus $64.97B last year. Approximately $9B was used to repurchase Berkshire shares during the third quarter, bringing the nine-month total to approximately $16B. The company said that about 70% of its aggregate fair value was concentrated in four companies: American Express (AXP) at $15.2B; Apple (AAPL) at $111.7B; Bank of America (BAC) at – $24.9B and The Coca-Cola Company (KO) at $19.7B. 5. Danone (DANOY) saw a positive mention in this week’s edition of Barron’s, while Biogen (BIIB) was mentioned cautiously.
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