For Berkshire, the acquisition of Burlington Northern, or BNSF, the second largest railroad, will be its biggest to date. With it, Berkshire is adding a railroad transportation business with its already diverse range of businesses including retail, manufacturing and insurance, as well as several regional electric and gas utilities.

The acquisition is expected to close in early 2010 and is subject to Burlington Northern's shareholder approval. Post acquisition, Burlington Northern will operate from its headquarters as a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.

Based in Fort Worth, Texas, Burlington Northern operates one of the largest railroad networks in North America through its subsidiary, with 33,500 route miles covering 28 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. This network covers two-thirds of the western United States, stretching from major Pacific Northwest and Southern California. The company employs more than 40,000 people.

Get real-time market insights and profitable stock recommendations from the team of analysts at Zacks Investment Research.See all today's Analyst Blog entries.

The loan comes with an interest rate of one to two percentage points above the Libor rate, Burlington said in a filing with the local regulator. The three-month Libor was set at 0.27 on Thursday.

JPMorgan has 22% of the US syndicated loan market in 2009, ranking second after Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC), while Wells Fargo comes fourth, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Comments on this story may be sent to admin@m2.com

Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. is a publicly owned investment manager. Through its subsidiaries, the firm primarily engages in the insurance and reinsurance of property and casualty risks business. It invests in the public equity markets of the United States and Canada. It employs a value investing approach, investing across sectors. Berkshire Hathaway was founded in 1889 and is based in Omaha, Nebraska.

Recent News on Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE:BRKa)

Billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N)(BRKb.N) revealed on Monday new investments in Nestle AG (NESN.VX)(NSRGY.PK) and Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), respectively the world's largest food maker and oil company, and that it has nearly doubled its investment in Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N), the world's largest retailer.

In a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing reporting U.S.-listed equity holdings as of September 30, Berkshire said it held 3.4 million American depositary receipts of Nestle valued at $144.7 million and about 1.28 million Exxon Mobil shares valued at $87.6 million.

It also reported boosting its stake in Wal-Mart by 90 percent from three months earlier, to 37.8 million shares valued at about $1.86 billion from 19.9 million shares as of June 30.

Berkshire, which is based in Omaha, Nebraska, also reported a new $96.3 million investment in waste collection company Republic Services Inc (RSG.N), and a $1.35 million investment in the insurer Travelers Cos (TRV.N).

To view the Consolidated Investment Analysis on Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE:BRKa)Please visit the stock pulse page at www.chartpoppers.com

In the report chartpoppers.com covers a recent Financial Summary, Analyst Consensus, Technical Analysis, Comparative Analysis and Insider Trading Activity.

The full report is available at www.chartpoppers.com

Chartpoppers.com is a market research and investment commentary provider. Chartpoppers.com aims to bring undervalued, up and coming companies into the sight of both experienced and non-experienced investors. We try to help investors, at whatever stage in their careers, to get a grasp on the necessary financial data that they need in order to make a educated investment decision. From our daily trading ideas to a in depth coverage of what's going on in the markets, we are sure that chartpoppers.com is exactly what you need in order succeed.

For More information please visit us at www.chartpoppers.com

Chartpoppers.com Disclosure DO NOT BASE ANY INVESTMENT DECISION UPON ANY MATERIALS FOUND ON THIS REPORT. We are not registered as a securities broker-dealer or an investment adviser either with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") or with any state securities regulatory authority. We are neither licensed nor qualified to provide investment advice. ChartPoppers.com nor its affiliates have a beneficial interest in the mentioned company; nor have they received compensation of any kind for any of the companies listed in this communication. The information contained in our report is not an offer to buy or sell securities. We distribute opinions, comments and information free of charge exclusively to individuals who wish to receive them.

CONTACT: Paul Marek, Chartpoppers.com e-mail: info@chartpoppers.com Tel: +1 604 724 5332

((M2 Communications disclaims all liability for information provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data supplied by named party/parties. Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at http://www.presswire.net on the world wide web. Inquiries to info@m2.com.

Earnings of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries for the third quarter and first nine months of 2009 and 2008 are summarized below. Earnings are stated on an after-tax basis. (Dollar amounts are in millions, except for per share amounts).

                                                                       Third Quarter                         First Nine Months
                                                                       2009               2008               2009               2008
Operating earnings                                                     $   2,055          $   2,069          $   5,540          $   6,270
Investment and derivative gains (losses) -
Sales of investments                                                       73                 (30       )        (166      )        483
Other-than-temporary impairments of investments (writedowns)               (16       )        (163      )        (2,047    )        (443      )
Derivative gains (losses)                                                  1,126              (819      )        1,672              (1,433    )
                                                                           1,183              (1,012    )        (541      )        (1,393    )
Net earnings attributable to Berkshire shareholders                    $   3,238          $   1,057          $   4,999          $   4,877
Net earnings per Class A equivalent share attributable to Berkshire    $   2,087          $   682            $   3,223          $   3,149
shareholders
Investment and derivative gains (losses) per Class A equivalent share      762                (653      )        (349      )        (899      )
Operating earnings per Class A equivalent share                        $   1,325          $   1,335          $   3,572          $   4,048
Average Class A equivalent shares outstanding                              1,551,727          1,549,226          1,550,986          1,548,871
Note:Per share amounts for the Class B shares are 1/30th
those shown for the Class A.
An analysis of Berkshire's operating earnings follows (dollar
amounts are in millions).
                                                                       Third Quarter                         First Nine Months
                                                                       2009               2008               2009               2008
Insurance-underwriting                                                 $   363            $   81             $   665            $   622
Insurance-investment income                                                976                809                3,168              2,495
Non-insurance businesses                                                   774                1,080              1,887              3,116
Other                                                                      (58       )        99                 (180      )        37
Operating earnings                                                     $   2,055          $   2,069          $   5,540          $   6,270

In the table at the top of the page (which, as noted, reports after-tax results), we give investment and derivative gains (losses) lines of their own because the amounts of these in any given quarter or year is usually meaningless.

Other-than-temporary impairments primarily relate to Berkshire's investment in ConocoPhillips. As was disclosed in our first quarter report, we recorded a pre-tax charge of about $3 billion ($1.9 billion after-tax) at the end of the first quarter which represented the difference between the cost of the 71.2 million shares of ConocoPhillips that we held at that time and the March 31, 2009 market value of the shares. During the third quarter there were no significant impairment charges recorded.

Gains from derivative contracts during the third quarter primarily relate to our credit default derivative contracts and to a lesser degree to long duration equity index put option contracts. As we have previously discussed, our derivative contracts, subject as they are to mark-to-market accounting, will produce extreme volatility in our periodic reported earnings.

During the third quarter of 2009, our book value increased to $81,247 per Class A equivalent share, an increase of 15.2% from yearend and 10.1% from the end of the second quarter. In addition to our net worth of $126.1 billion, which has increased by $16.8 billion since yearend, insurance float (the net funds that we hold pursuant to insurance contracts and that we can invest for our benefit) increased from year end by about $4 billion to approximately $62 billion at September 30, 2009.

Berkshire Hathaway and its subsidiaries engage in diverse business activities including property and casualty insurance and reinsurance, utilities and energy, finance, manufacturing, retailing and services. Common stock of the company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading symbols BRK.A and BRK.B.

Certain statements contained in this press release are "forward looking" statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are not guaranties of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those forecasted.

Comment on Regulation G

This press release includes certain non-GAAP financial measures. The reconciliations of such measures to the most comparable GAAP figures in accordance with Regulation G are included herein.

Berkshire presents its results in the way it believes will be most meaningful and useful, as well as most transparent, to the investing public and others who use Berkshire's financial information. That presentation includes the use of certain non-GAAP financial measures. In addition to the GAAP presentations of net earnings, Berkshire shows operating earnings defined as net earnings exclusive of investment and derivative gains/losses.

Although the investment of insurance and reinsurance premiums to generate investment income and investment gains or losses is an integral part of Berkshire's operations, the generation of investment gains or losses is independent of the insurance underwriting process. Moreover, under applicable GAAP accounting requirements, losses can be created as the result of other-than-temporary declines in value without actual realization or when certain types of investments are marked-to-market through earnings. In sum, investment and derivative gains/losses for any particular period are not indicative of quarterly business performance.

SOURCE: Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. 
Marc D. Hamburg, 402-346-1400