Berkshire Hathaway

As impact of recession, Berkshire's value of shares are going down. Moody's Investor Service has cut top-level AAA rating of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. to AA2.

Berkshire has businesses that make carpet, paint and insulation, units that sell mobile homes and prefabricated houses, and others that sell jewelery, furniture and custom frames. \

Moody's also cut its financial strength or credit ratings on Berkshire insurance units including Geico Corp, General Re Corp. and National Indemnity Co.

Last year Moody's gave a Berkshire bond-insurance business its top rating as competitors in that industry faltered.

The increase in Berkshire's liabilities on derivatives and drop in equity holdings, contributed to steepest decline in the book value per share in Buffet's 44-year tenure.