Profits at US billionaire Warren Buffett's company have been hit partly as a result of the Christchurch earthquake.
The company, Berkshire Hathaway, has announced that its first quarter profits dropped more than half, a fall of more than $US2 billion, due in part to insurance losses associated with the natural disasters in Japan and New Zealand.
Losses totalled $US1.07 billion from the Japan earthquake and $US412 million from the earthquake in New Zealand
In a separate development, Mr Buffett has faced questions from shareholders about the resignation of a top executive, the BBC reports.
He told investors at the firm's annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, that David Sokol had violated Berkshire Hathaway's insider-trading rules.
Mr Sokol traded shares worth $US10 million in Lubrizol before convincing Mr Buffett to mount a take-over.
Mr Buffett said he'd made a big mistake by not pressing Mr Sokol when he mentioned the investment in passing.
