Business Digest: Home improvement celebrity coming to town

Than Merrill, star of the TV show "Flip this House," is coming to Omaha Monday.

Merrill will conduct a seminar on real estate investing from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Regency Lodge, 909 S. 107th Ave.

The seminar costs $10, and all proceeds benefit the children's summer camp at the Open Door Mission, which serves homeless families throughout the Omaha metro area.

For more information or to register, call 213-7538 or go to www.themetropros.com.

Merrill is founder and president of CT Homes, LLC and FortuneBuilders Inc. After graduating from Yale University and playing in the NFL, he has become a successful real estate investor and speaker. The A&E program "Flip This House" features Merrill tackling the transformation of eyesores into a profit-making properties.

— Christine Laue

Buffett stakes grow

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. added to its stakes in Wells Fargo and Kraft Foods in the first quarter, taking advantage of prices driven down by the slowing U.S. economy.

Berkshire also added to holdings in UnitedHealth Group, it said Thursday in a regulatory filing that disclosed equity investments as of March 31.

It was also disclosed Thursday that Buffett has declined to bid on the insurance units being offered by Royal Bank of Scotland.

— Bloomberg News

ACQUISITION

CBS buying CNET

Media and entertainment company CBS Corp. is buying CNet Networks, an online information provider, for $1.8 billion to expand its reach on the Internet, the companies announced Thursday.

CEO Leslie Moonves said CBS wanted access to CNet's large online audience in order to distribute media content. — AP

Senior citizen help: Call 877-637-3334

The region's Better Business Bureau Foundation has established a telephone hot line for senior citizens, their caregivers, family members or concerned adults such as neighbors to call for reliable information on businesses or to report scams.

Senior citizens in Nebraska, South Dakota and southwest Iowa can call 877-637-3334 and also can get pre-purchase information or file complaints.

Susan Howell, operations director, said some senior citizens hesitate to raise issues for fear of being perceived as incompetent, so the line will be staffed by people who understand such issues.

The bureau said scam artists target senior citizens because of their age and living conditions. Senior citizens often are inclined to trust strangers who are friendly and appear to have their best interests at heart and may want help with the cost of prescription drugs, insurance offers or living expenses.

Senior citizens are frequently at home and can be reached by fraudulent telemarketers and people going door to door.

— Steve Jordon