Berkshire Hathaway reports earnings jolt amid Buffet's succession announcement
Berkshire reported the total earnings of USD 20.8 billion in the first six months of the year, which has fallen almost 8.8 per cent from the previous year during the same period, as per the reports.
On the other hand, Berkshire's underwriting businesses earned a total amount of USD 2.53 billion, which is also significantly lower than the previous year. Berkshire's underwriting businesses consist of GEICO, private passenger, and automobile insurance.
Reportedly, Berkshire also witnessed a sudden fall in cash holdings for the first three months of the year. Moreover, the firm was standing at USD347 billion at the company's Annual Shareholders Meeting, which was held in May at Omaha, Nebraska in which Buffett also discussed his succession plans, trade policies, and market volatility.
While writing about the macroeconomic conditions and geopolitical events, Berkshire also pointed to the global economic uncertainty, in the aftermath of the Trump administration's tariff policies, by stating, 'We are currently unable to reliably predict the future, timing, or magnitude of potential economic consequences of any such changes.'
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The Hindu
8 minutes ago
- The Hindu
U.S. envoy Witkoff to visit Moscow ahead of sanctions deadline
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Hindustan Times
8 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Number Theory: Trump's hypocrisy on Russia‑India oil trade, detailed in 3 charts
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Hindustan Times
38 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Will ‘substantially' increase India tariffs, Trump warns
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If they do that, then I'm not going to be very happy,' he added. The president's latest threat, in brief remarks to American TV channel CNBC, came hours after India mounted its strongest defence yet of Russian energy ties, with external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Monday calling American tariff threats 'unjustified and unreasonable.' 'Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security,' Jaiswal said on Monday, defending India's Russian energy imports as essential for affordable energy costs. Russia on Tuesday backed India's right to choose its trading partners, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying sovereign countries have the right to select partners in trade and economic cooperation based on their interests. 'We believe that sovereign countries must have and do have the right to choose their trade partners, the partners in trade and economic cooperation, on their own and independently determine those modes of trade and economic cooperation that suit the interests of a country in question,' Peskov told journalists, commenting on the US threats regarding India. Trump's threat comes just a day after the American leader criticised India for making large profits from refining and selling Russian oil on global markets. On July 30, Trump announced a 25% tariff on Indian goods, while citing New Delhi's purchases of Russian energy and military equipment as irritants in the bilateral relationship. Later on July 31, Trump termed India and Russia 'dead economies' in a post on Truth Social. Following the president's statements, key administration officials, such as secretary of state Marco Rubio and treasury secretary Scott Bessent have also made statements criticising Indian energy purchases from Russia. According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, India bought 38% of all Russian crude oil exports in June, behind only China. CREA also estimated that India purchased 49 billion euros—roughly $56 billion—worth of Russian fossil fuels in 2024. The 24-hour ultimatum threatens to derail trade negotiations scheduled to begin August 25 in New Delhi, with both countries having described the talks as making substantial progress toward a breakthrough agreement. 'To India's surprise, President Trump's position on Russia has moved considerably since his 2024 election campaign. What he is expressing, however, is consistent with views amongst both Democrats and Republicans across the political spectrum, which hold that India could be doing more to economically constrain Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine,' said Sameer Lalwani, non resident senior fellow at the Centre for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment. 'India has made reasonable defences of its oil and arms imports, but this will certainly make a trade deal harder and further complicate US-India strategic partnership. That said, there is a plausible path out of this since oil imports from Russia are not as politically salient for the Modi government as agriculture protections, and India has previously cooperated with the last Trump administration on oil imports, specifically from Iran,' Lalwani added. The president's new tariff threat creates immediate uncertainty for Indian exporters already grappling with the 25% tariff that is set to take effect on August 7, while potentially forcing New Delhi to choose between energy security and trade relations with its largest export market. India exported $86.5 billion worth of goods to the US in fiscal 2025, creating a $41 billion trade surplus that has become a persistent irritant in bilateral relations. However, industry experts estimate that 45-50% of Indian goods may avoid additional tariffs due to existing exemptions for electronics, pharmaceuticals, and energy products. Trump's escalating threats prompted rare political unity in India, with both the ruling BJP and opposition Congress condemning the American president's approach in unusually strong terms. Congress leader Manish Tewari said Trump's 'disparaging remarks hurt the dignity and self-respect of Indians,' adding: 'The time has come to call out this constant bullying and hectoring.' BJP leader Baijayant Jay Panda quoted former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger in a post on X: 'To be an enemy of America can be dangerous, but to be a friend is fatal.' Indian stock markets ended slightly lower on Tuesday as fresh tariff warnings dampened investor sentiment. The BSE Sensex fell 308.47 points or 0.38% to close at 80,710.25, whilst the NSE Nifty dropped 73.20 points or 0.30% to 24,649.55. During intraday trading, the Sensex hit a low of 80,554.40, declining as much as 464.32 points, before recovering somewhat by the close. Oil & Gas stocks led the decline, falling 0.96%, followed by Energy (-0.74%) and FMCG (-0.61%) sectors.
