Fed will tweet about nation’s money policy

WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve isn’t known for its brevity. Now, it has no choice.

At least when it comes to the tweets it will issue through its official Twitter channel – @federalreserve – which it launched Wednesday.

Like other Twitter users, the Fed will have to limit its tweets to 140 characters. Just listing the official name of its policymaking panel, the Federal Open Market Committee, would consume roughly a quarter of that space.

Don’t expect too much excitement from Chairman Ben Bernanke’s august institution. Unless, of course, excitement is defined by the following tweet: “Watch a video of Chairman Bernanke explaining the structure of the Federal Reserve.”

Six thousand users signed up to follow the Fed within hours of the announcement.

The Fed commands outsize power to move global financial markets. Investors weigh every word. And some want to follow the Fed because they distrust its influence over the financial system.

The Fed’s tweets will be prepared by the staffers in the Fed’s Public Affairs Office who also maintain the Fed’s website.

Union wants Buffett to reveal his successor

OMAHA, Neb. – A group of Berkshire Hathaway investors from the AFL-CIO wants to require the company to reveal Warren Buffett’s successor.

The labor union’s AFL-CIO Reserve Fund submitted a proposal that Berkshire shareholders will vote on at the annual meeting this May.

The union wants to require the Omaha-based company to disclose a written succession plan that includes the criteria for the next chief executive and the identities of promising internal candidates.

The proposal would address something many Berkshire shareholders have worried about for years because so much of the company’s success is attributed to the 81-year-old Buffett.

Trade deficit grew in last quarter of 2011

WASHINGTON – A slight drop in exports and a rise in imports widened the broadest measure of the U.S. trade deficit at the end of last year. The increase pushed the gap to its widest point in three years.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that the current account trade deficit increased 15.3 percent in the October-December quarter, to $124.1 billion.

A higher trade deficit acts as a drag on growth. It means more goods and services are being purchased from overseas, while U.S. companies are making fewer sales overseas.

Exports decreased slightly to $380.4 billion, in part because of a drop in overseas demand for U.S. airline tickets. Imports ticked up to $566.7 billion. The increase was partly driven by increased purchases of imported airplanes.