Market Wrap: I-Buffett-M; Italy Pays for Bonds; Anadarko Hits Big; BofA Out of CCB; Lowe's Builds EPS Win

Market wrap-up for November 14th

End of the Day: Dow Jones down 74.70 to 12,078.98; Nasdaq down 21.53 to 2,657.22; S&P 500 down 12 to 1,251.78

The following is a brief summary of events moving markets today:

• Buffett gets all tech-y: Ahead of its 13F quarterly filing, Berkshire Hathaway's (NSE: BRK-A)(NYSE: BRK-B) Warren Buffett disclosed the purchase of about 64 million International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) shares for about $10.7 billion, amounting to 5.5 percent of the firms total outstanding common. Buffett said he didn't speak with executives before making the purchase, rather he had been reading IBMs quarterly filings and they have fulfilled on promises.
  
  The purchase makes IBM the second largest holding in Berkshire's portfolio, behind its $13.6 billion position in Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO).
  
  IBM ended slightly lower Monday.
  
  
• Italy sells bonds, but for a price: Italy sold €3 billion of five-year bonds at a yield of 6.29 percent, up from 5.32 percent the bonds were sold for during the last auction. Bids were at 1.47 times that amount of the offer, from 1.34 times at the last auction.
  
  
• We got oil: Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: APC) today provided an update on its Horizontal Niobrara and Codell drilling program in the Wattenberg field (Wattenberg HZ) of northeastern Colorado. To date, the company is producing from 11 horizontal wells within the Wattenberg field boundaries, with each well achieving strong initial rates and high liquid's yields.
  
  Anadarko's best horizontal well to date, the Dolph 27-1HZ, demonstrated an initial production (IP) rate of more than 1,100 barrels of oil per day (BOPD) with more than 2.4 million cubic feet of natural gas per day (MMcf/d), resulting in an estimated EUR of better than 600,000 BOE. Anadarko is the largest net producer in the liquids-rich Denver-Julesburg (DJ) Basin at greater than 70,000 BOE per day. The company holds interests in more than 350,000 net acres in the Wattenberg field, and operates more than 5,200 existing wells with an average working interest of approximately 96 percent, and an average net revenue interest of approximately 88 percent.
  
  
• See, see ya, CCB stake: Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) announced today that it has agreed to sell approximately 10.4 billion common shares of China Construction Bank Corporation (CCB) through private transactions with a group of investors. The sales are expected to generate an after-tax gain of approximately $1.8 billion.
  
  The transactions are expected to close in November 2011, and are subject to customary closing conditions. Following closing, Bank of America will hold approximately 1 percent of the common shares of CCB.
  
  
• Building some strong results: Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) reported third-quarter earnings Monday morning. The homebuilder reported earnings of 35 cents per share, excluding certain one-time items, on revenue of $11.9 billion. The number compared with Street views calling for EPS of 33 cents and $11.7 billion in revenue. Looking at 2011, Lowe's raised the lower-end of earnings estimates from a range of $1.54 to $1.60 per share to a range of $1.57 to $1.60 per share. The Street is currently looking for earnings of $1.59 per share.

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