Berkshire Hathaway said Friday second-quarter profit fell 8 percent, hurt by weaker results from insurance underwriting.

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Dow Chemical, which earlier Thursday announced a deal to acquire Rohm and Haas for $18.8 billion, has early indication from credit ratings agency Moody's that its debt will remain investment grade following the deal, said Chief Executive Andrew Liveris on Thursday.

Dow Chemical said on Thursday it would buy rival Rohm and Haas for $15.3 billion in a move to broaden its product offerings in higher margin markets such as paints, coatings and electronic materials.

Anheuser-Busch on Monday slammed InBev's efforts to replace the U.S. beer company's board, but said it would be open to any proposal that provided "full and certain value" for shareholders.

InBev upped the pressure on reluctant bid target Anheuser-Busch on Monday with a plan to replace the U.S. rival's board of directors that has rejected its $46.3 billion takeover offer.

Florida officials agreed to pay Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway  $224 million for a conditional pledge to buy $4 billion of state hurricane bonds during 2008, a state spokesman said on.

Italy's Generali has pulled out of the bidding for Royal Bank of Scotland's insurance arm just hours ahead of a first bid deadline on Wednesday, prompting speculation that interest in the asset is fading.

Day 4 of the Warren Buffett European offensive, and expectations of an imminent bid have been managed down. Mr Buffett says he is not stalking targets, he wants companies that meet his criteria to call him. He even gave out his phone number on a number of occasions during the Lausanne press conference.

The Oracle of Omaha is looking for European businesses with pre-tax profits of at least $75 million, but he says the bigger the better. The tour began in Frankfurt, continues in Lausanne, Switzerland Tuesday and rolls on to Madrid and Milan later in the week.

Stocks finished mixed as an early rally fizzled and weakness crept into techs, retail and housing.

Stocks advanced Monday as an uptick in leading indicators offered investors a modest confirmation of the optimism they've been trading on.

Doug Kass, who famously shorted "everything related to housing" in 2007, told Barron's he has a short position in Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, largely because the company has suffered from a drift in its investment style.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has pulled out of the bidding in Royal Bank of Scotland's 7 billion pound ($13.62 billion) auction of its UK insurance business, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

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