Tension in the Air at Buffett Confab

OMAHA, Neb. -- Amidst the champagne, strawberries and shopping bags from glitzy jeweler Borsheim's, there was tension in the air Friday evening. The first official gathering of this weekend's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A Quote) annual meeting -- a reception at which Berkshire Chairman Warren Buffett briefly appeared to greet shareholders -- lacked the bubbly tone of years past.

Shareholder disappointment -- if not outright discontent -- was palpable. "Warren will face some very difficult questions tomorrow," said Bill Lampeteer, a shareholder from Rochester, N.Y. "It won't be as tough as it might have been, but he has some explaining to do."

The need to explain comes from the lackadaisical performance of Berkshire stock over the past year. While the S&P 500 has gained nearly 10% since April 1999, Berkshire is down more than 20%. And, for the first time since Buffett took the reigns, Berkshire stock is underperforming both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq over a trailing three-year period. ...