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A legend for many investors:
Investor
Warren Buffet
Photo: SCOTT MORGAN / REUTERS
Price losses on the US stock exchanges have pushed the investment company of star investor
Warren Buffett
(91) deep into the red.
The bottom line is that Berkshire Hathaway posted a loss of $43.8 billion in the second quarter, the company announced on Saturday.
A year earlier, a profit of 28.1 billion dollars had accrued.
The share value of the three largest holdings Apple, Bank of America and American Express had each fallen by 21 percent.
Operationally, however, the picture was different.
Rising interest rates allowed the firm's insurers to get more out of their investments.
The firmer dollar helped boost gains in Europe and Japan.
Insurance and better-performing business at rail freight company BNSF offset losses at auto insurer Geico.
Operating profit increased 39 percent to $9.28 billion in the quarter.
Because Berkshire Hathaway is required to account for the profits and losses of its investments -- even if no shares are sold or bought -- net income often fluctuates wildly.
The company, based in Omaha, Nebraska, lost almost $50 billion in the first quarter of 2020 due to the burden of the corona pandemic.
For the year as a whole, however, profits totaled $42.5 billion.
oho/reuters
