Standard & Poor downgraded its long-term counterparty credit rating on Berkshire Hathaway to AA+ from AAA on the firm's impending acquisition of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. The outlook is stable.
"The rating actions are based on our view that Berkshire's overall capital adequacy, as well as that of its insurance operations, has weakened to levels no longer consistent with a 'AAA' rating and is not expected to return to extremely strong levels in the near term," said John Iten, an S&P credit analyst, in a statement.