WARREN BUFFETT

Standard & Poor's on Thursday stripped Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc of its top AAA rating, saying its acquisition of Burlington Northern Santa Fe will hurt liquidity and capital adequacy.

Moody's Corp , parent of credit-rating agency Moody's Investors Service, forecast 2010 earnings below Wall Street expectations and warned of rising compliance costs, sending its shares down more than 4 percent.

Kraft Foods is set to receive enough acceptances from Cadbury shareholders to seal its 11.7 billion pounds ($18.6 billion) takeover by around 1700 GMT (12 noon EST) Tuesday and start the tough integration of Cadbury's 45,000 worldwide employees.

Kraft Foods Inc is expected to easily win support from Cadbury shareholders for its $18.73 billion (11.68 million pound) takeover of the iconic British chocolatier.

Shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc surged on Wednesday after Standard & Poor's said it will add the company run by billionaire Warren Buffett to its S&P 500 stock index .

Standard & Poor's said it will add Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc to its flagship S&P 500 stock index , as the company prepares to acquire railroad operator Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp .

Warren Buffett has built a $1 billion stake in Munich Re, boosting his insurance holdings by taking a 3 percent stake in the world's biggest reinsurer.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp , the No. 2 U.S. railroad, posted stronger-than-expected earnings on Thursday, lifted by improving volumes, and the company said it expected the freight recovery to continue in 2010.

Cadbury's big UK investors expect Kraft's $19.3 billion acquisition of the British confectioner will go ahead despite Kraft's top shareholder Warren Buffett saying the takeover is a bad deal.

A unit of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc , General Re, has agreed to pay $92.2 million to settle accusations that it helped American International Group Inc and Prudential Financial Inc manipulate financial statements, the U.S. government said Wednesday.

General Re Corp., a subsidiary of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE:BRK), has agreed to pay $92.2 million to settle investigations and claims that it allegedly entered into sham reinsurance contracts, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced on Wednesday.

Warren Buffett said Kraft Foods Inc's proposed $19.6 billion acquisition of Cadbury Plc is a bad deal and questioned how Chief Executive Irene Rosenfeld chose to pay for it.

U.S. stocks were poised for a lower open on Wednesday on reports of bank lending restrictions in China and as quarterly results from three big U.S. banks raised uneasiness about the state of the sector.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett on Wednesday came out against Kraft Foods Inc proposed $19.6 billion acquisition of Cadbury Plc .

Kraft Foods sealed a friendly deal to buy British candy maker Cadbury for about $19.6 billion (11.9 billion pounds) after frantic last-minute talks broke an impasse over price.

U.S. stocks were poised for a slightly weaker open on Tuesday after quarterly results from Citigroup Inc led to concern about the quality of financial sector earnings as reporting season ramps up.

Kraft Foods agrees a deal to buy Cadbury on Tuesday for around 11.9 billion pounds ($19.55 billion) by increasing its overall bid and offering more cash in an offer that was recommended by Cadbury's board.

U.S. stock index futures slipped on Tuesday as Kraft Foods Inc reached a deal to acquire Cadbury and earnings season picked up steam.

U.S.-based Kraft Foods Inc and Britain's Cadbury Plc are close to sealing a friendly deal to create the world's largest confectionery group for up to 11.7 billion pounds ($19 billion), sources familiar with the matter said on Monday.

Swiss Re said it had agreed to transfer a U.S. life reinsurance contract to Warren Buffett for 1.3 billion Swiss francs ($1.27 billion), allowing it to reinvest capital more profitably elsewhere.

Cadbury fired the final salvo in its defence on Thursday, branding Kraft Foods' bid as more unattractive than a month ago, as Cadbury shares rose on hopes of a rival bid from Hershey.