The US dollar continued on its road to recovery as it advanced against most of the major currencies, and soaked in the biggest gains against the low yielding Swiss franc and Yen as investors moved into higher yielding assets. As a result, the New Zealand and Australian dollar were the only currencies to advance against the greenback, while the Canadian dollar failed to follow its currency partners amid a rise in commodity prices. The US dollar also rallied against the European currencies as the euro dipped to 1.541, while the British Pound inched lower to trade in the 1.973 range.

Fresh economic data supported the US dollar rally as labor conditions marked a surprising improvement, with growth prospects improving as export demands remain resilient. The Non-Farm Payroll index came in much better than what the markets had expected as it was released at -20K against forecasts for a -75K reading due to heightened growth in the services sector. As a result, the Unemployment Rate dropped to 5.0 percent from 5.1 percent, with Manufacturing Payrolls also reflecting an improvement as it rose to -46K from -48K. The Factory Orders index added to the improved outlook as the index surged to 1.4 percent from minus 0.9 percent due to a rise in export demands.

Improved economic data fostered early morning gains in the securities market, but failed to hold its ground as investors sold off their securities to round up profits. As a result, the DJIA picked up 48.20 points to hold off at 13,058.20 points after rising above 13,100 early on in the session, with 22 of the 30 components advancing. Among the broader indices, the S&P500 rose 4.56 points to 1,413.90, with 148

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Microsoft Corp. finally dangled a higher takeover bid in front of Yahoo Inc. Friday, hoping to reach a friendly deal after weeks of saber rattling.

The Redmond, Wash.-based software maker upped its offer beyond the original value of $44.6 billion, or $31 per share, according to a person familiar with the matter. The specifics of the new offer weren't known by this person, who didn't want to be identified because the negotiations are still confidential.

The New York Times, citing unnamed sources, reported Microsoft boosted the offer by "by several dollars" per share, lending weight to the assertion by many market analysts that Microsoft can afford to pay up to $35 a share.

Representatives from Microsoft and Yahoo declined to comment on the negotiations. The talks were expected to continue into the weekend.

In an intriguing twist, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and Yahoo President Susan Decker were both expected to be in Omaha, Neb. this weekend to attend Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s annual meeting. Both Gates and Decker are on the board of the company led by famed investor Warren Buffett.

The prospect of a sweetened offer lifted Yahoo shares 80 cents in extended trading after surging $1.86, or nearly 7 percent, to finish the regular session at $28.67.

Sunnyvale-based Yahoo began pressing for a higher offer shortly after Microsoft made its unsolicited bid

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said Friday its first-quarter profit fell 64 percent because it recorded an unrealized $1.6 billion pretax loss on its derivative contracts, and its insurance businesses generated lower profits.

Berkshire reported net income of $940 million, or $607 per share, in the quarter ended March 31. That's down significantly from the net income of $2.6 billion Berkshire generated a year ago.

Berkshire's chairman and CEO Warren Buffett warned shareholders in his annual letter that the derivatives could make the company's earnings volatile. But he predicted the derivatives will ultimately be profitable.

The four analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected earnings per share of $1,476.99 on average.

Including the derivative losses, Berkshire's net investment losses in the quarter totaled $991 million. A year ago, the Omaha-based company recorded a $382 million investment gain.

Berkshire's derivatives fit into two major categories. Berkshire will have to pay on some of the contracts if certain U.S. entities default on their credit. Most of the other derivatives will only be paid if the certain stock indices are lower in 15 or 20 years than they were when the contract was written.

Berkshire has received $2.9 billion in premiums on the credit-default derivatives and $4.9 billion on the

"It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price."

If you can grasp this simple advice from Warren Buffett, you should do well as an investor. Sure, there are other investment strategies out there, but Buffett's approach is both easy to follow and demonstrably successful over more than 50 years. Why try anything else?

Two words for the efficient market hypothesis: Warren Buffett
An interesting academic study (link opens PDF file) illustrates Buffett's amazing investment genius. From 1980 to 2003, the stock portfolio of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) beat the S&P 500 index in 20 out of 24 years. During that same period, Berkshire's average annual return from its stock portfolio outperformed the index by 12 percentage points. The efficient market theory predicts this is impossible, but the theory is clearly wrong in this case. And as Casey Stengel said, "You can look it up."

Buffett has delivered these outstanding returns by buying undervalued shares in great companies such as Gillette (now owned by Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG)) and Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO). Over the years, Berkshire has owned household names such as Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) and American Express (NYSE: AXP).

While not every pick worked out, Buffett and Berkshire have, for the most part, made a mint. Indeed, his investment in Gillette increased threefold during the 1990s. Who'd have guessed you could get such

(Fortune) -- In a presentation he made to students at the Wharton School earlier this month and a subsequent interview with Fortune, Warren Buffett shared his thoughts on everything from the economy to the credit crisis and the Bear Stearns bailout.

In this Web exclusive, we present further excerpts from his talk with the students, in which the megabillionaire offers his insights on judging managers, buying businesses, what metrics - if any - he relies upon, and why he views his job as similar to painting the Sistine Chapel.

Q: You said before that one of the things you look for in businesses you're buying is good managers who are honest, capable, and hard-working. To me, that's a hard judgment to make if you haven't known him for long on a personal level. How do you go about figuring that out about somebody, and how long does it take you to make that evaluation?

Warren Buffett: Well, almost always, we're buying businesses where the managers come with it, so I do have a record [I can judge]. If I had to pick out the five people in this group here who would be the best managers, I wouldn't know how to do it. I mean, you all have great IQs, you have great academic records. You've all shown the energy to get into school and push hard and all that. So you'd have all these attractive qualities.

Can I pick out the five best? I don't think I can do it. What I can do, when I've seen somebody run a business for 20 years, is decide whether they're going to keep behaving in the future as they have in the