Honoured in the breach

Berkshire Hathaway doesn’t participate in auctions: it says so in black and white in the company’s most recent annual report. Yet Warren Buffett’s investment company is one of eight preliminary bidders for the insurance arm of RBS, the UK bank - an operation that includes the Direct Line brand. The legendary US investor may be bending his own rules to go after a target that otherwise suits Berkshire down to the ground. Of course, it isn’t quite a paddle-waving auction yet. Buffett could put in a...