Berskhire cuts railroad investments

Berskhire cuts railroad investments

	Published : Mon, 15 Oct 2007 23:17 By : Agencies Print this Story

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has cut its investments in Union Pacific Corp. and Norfolk Southern Corp. since the company first revealed them earlier this year.

The documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission Monday are the first to detail Berkshire's holdings in those two railroads since May because Buffett's company was allowed to keep the investments confidential. Berkshire said in the filing that its authority for confidential treatment expired Monday.

Berkshire said it held 7.4 million shares of Union Pacific stock as of June 30. That's down from the 10.5 million shares of the Omaha-based railroad that Berkshire held March 31, according to an earlier filing detailing Berkshire's stock holdings.

Berkshire also said it held 3.76 million shares of Norfolk Southern as of June 30. Earlier this year, Berkshire held nearly 6.4 million shares of Norfolk Southern stock.

Monday's filing does not mention Berkshire's biggest railroad investment: 60.8 million shares of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. Buffett's company controls 17.2 percent of the nation's second-largest railroad.

Earlier this year, Buffett discussed his interest in the railroad industry, saying railroads have become an appealing investment because they are healthier today than in past years. There's no explanation in the filing of why Buffett unloaded shares of UP and Norfolk Southern.

Berkshire spokeswoman Jackie Wilson said Thursday that no one was available to comment, and the company rarely discusses its stock investments.

Buffett's company often asks the Securities and Exchange Commission for the ability to not disclose information that could hurt its trading strategy because the market likes to follow what the 'Oracle of Omaha's' company does. The UP and Norfolk Southern holdings were omitted from a quarterly update on Berkshire's stock holdings that was filed in August.

Because the railroad stock purchases are made by subsidiaries, it's not clear whether Buffett himself made the decision to buy.

Berkshire owns furniture, insurance, jewelry and candy companies, restaurants, natural gas and corporate jet firms and has major investments in such companies as The Coca-Cola Co. and Wells Fargo & Co.