Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its triple-'A'/'A-1'-plus counterparty credit, 'A-1'-plus commercial paper, and triple-'A' senior debt ratings on Berkshire Hathaway Inc. on Aug. 20, 2002. The outlook is stable. The affirmation takes into account Berkshire Hathaway's extremely strong financial flexibility and earnings diversification and its insurance operations' extremely strong consolidated capital adequacy. Additional positive considerations are the leading market positions held by certain Berkshire Hathaway (re)insurance operations, past initiatives taken by these affiliates to improve their business models, and a continued, positive pricing environment that should boost Berkshire Hathaway's insurance earnings over the next two years. Offsetting these positive factors are Berkshire Hathaway's exposure to market risk; its reinsurance operations susceptibility to loss severity; the uncertainty surrounding prior-year reserve
