Berkshire benefited as stock markets on three continents rebounded, while preferred shares and debt in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and General Electric Co. increased investment income. Buffett, the firm’s chairman and chief executive officer, has said Berkshire’s energy business is thriving amid the recession, while jewelry, home-building and airplane units suffered.

“Nearly every single thing they did on the investment side worked,” said Mohnish Pabrai, founder of Irvine, California-based Pabrai Investment Funds, which owns Berkshire shares. “The equity puts have the potential to make some big swings in every quarter.”

Derivatives added $2.36 billion to earnings, compared with $689 million a year earlier. The firm valued the stock portfolio at its insurance units at $45.8 billion, a 22 percent increase from March 31.

Source: Bloomberg