What Google, Buffett and the Chinese Communist Party have in common

Many call it guidance, but others say its wild guessing - Mar. 13, 2006: "What Google, Buffett and the Chinese Communist Party have in common
Some call it guidance, others call it a guess: Why Berkshire Hathaway and the NYSE won't give earnings forecasts.
Fortune Magazine
by Cait Murphy FORTUNE assistant managing editor
March 13, 2006: 2:26 PM EST

(FORTUNE Magazine) - There's the slightest insinuation of warmth in the New York air; the whisper of a promise of crocuses; the unmistakable sound of the crack of the bat.

Ah, yes, the first-quarter earnings season is almost upon us. Just as April showers bring May flowers, earnings season brings earning guidance -- quite a lot of it, in fact.
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The National Investors Relations Institute found that 71 percent of the companies it surveyed in 2004 p"