Berkshire rebounds from 2009 $1.5 billion 1Q loss to post a preliminary $3.6 billion profit

Berkshire Hathaway has rebounded from last year’s first-quarter loss and earned $3.6 billion as the economic recovery began and Berkshire absorbed Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad.

CEO Warren Buffett shared preliminary first-quarter results with shareholders Saturday at Berkshire’s annual meeting. The full report will be released Friday.

Last year’s $1.5 billion loss included a $241 million loss on the sale of investments and a $1.9 billion charge from writing down a ConocoPhillips investment.

The addition of Burlington Northern more than doubled Berkshire’s regulated businesses unit income to $555 million. The unit also includes utilities.

Buffett says Berkshire’s results show the economy is improving because manufacturing and retail income grew 85 percent to $477 million.

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Exxon Mobile Q1 profits up by 38%

Exxon Mobil has said its first quarter profits rose 38% from the same period a year earlier to $6.3 billion.

The profits excluded a $200m charge to pay for changes in US healthcare legislation. Amid high oil prices of around $85 a barrel, Exxon had been expected by analysts to report slightly stronger.

In 2009 Exxon recorded the largest profit of any publicly-listed company in the world, a whopping $40.6 billion, boosted by record high oil prices.

The Texas-based company said oil production increased around 4.5% in the first quarter compared with the same period a year ago.

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Republic Services, Inc. Reports Record First Quarter Results

Republic Services, Inc. today reported net income of $65.0 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, including a loss on the extinguishable of debt and other charges as further described in this release, for the three months ended March 31, 2010, versus $113.0 million, or $0.30 per diluted share, for the comparable period last year.

Republic's adjusted net income for the three months ended March 31, 2010 increased $16.9 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, to $157.6 million, or $0.41 per diluted share, from $140.7 million, or $0.38 per diluted share, for the three months ended March 31, 2009. Adjusted net income excludes a loss on the extinguishment of debt, costs to achieve synergies, restructuring charges and loss on disposition of assets and impairments, net for the three months ended March 31, 2010 and exclude costs to achieve synergies, restructuring charges and loss on disposition of assets and impairments, net for the three months ended March 31, 2009. A detail of these costs and charges is contained in the Reconciliation of Certain Non-GAAP Measures section of this document.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, depletion, amortization and accretion (EBITDA) for the three months ended March 31, 2010 was $604.5 million compared to $598.1 million for the comparable period in 2009. Excluding certain costs and charges recorded during 2010 and 2009 as previously described, adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended March 31, 2010 would have been $619.7 million or 31.7% as a percentage of revenue, compared to $647.1 million, or 31.4% as a percentage of revenue, for the comparable 2009 period.

Revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2010 was $1,957.7 million compared to $2,060.5 million for the same period in 2009. Core price for the three months ended March 31, 2010 increased 2.2%, commodity pricing increased 1.8% and fuel charges increased 0.3%. Core volume decreased by 7.0% during the period.

"During the quarter, Republic achieved the highest EBITDA margins in its history," said James E. O'Connor, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Republic Services. "Our performance is a direct result of the organization's continued focus on pricing, productivity improvements, customer service and synergy savings. Thus far, we have achieved approximately $180 million in annual run-rate synergy savings. I am especially pleased with the results of our recent $1.5 billion bond offering. Approximately $30 million of our annual run-rate synergies have been generated by refinancing debt at more favorable rates and we now expect total synergies to be in the range of $185 to $190 million."

Don Slager, President and Chief Operating Officer stated, "Our continued focus on safety resulted in a significant reduction in our risk cost during the quarter. Also, we have begun to see signs of increased economic activity, including indications of greater industrial activity, throughout the United States. Implementation of programs designed to lower costs, drive efficiency and increase productivity will allow us to generate higher returns as economic conditions improve."

Company Declares Quarterly Dividend

Republic also announced that its Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share for shareholders of record on July 1, 2010. The dividend will be paid on July 15, 2010.

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Union Pacific promises to move train traffic faster

If you're one of those Glen Ellyn residents having trouble sleeping because of freight trains rumbling along the Union Pacific tracks, there may be some relief in sight.

Union Pacific officials appeared before the Village Board on April 26 to outline plans for improvements they say will speed train traffic along.

"We're doing something significant to eliminate this process," Union Pacific Public Affairs Director Tom Zapler said of the habit of trains stopping and idling at all hours of the night.

Speaking in front of the board and about 30 residents who live close to the tracks, Zapler and General Superintendent David Giandinoto laid out plans to make improvements to their operations that will give residents some relief.

Union Pacific runs from 50 to 60 freight trains per day through Glen Ellyn. The noise problem comes primarily from trains idling during the times they are stopped by congestion from Metra commuter trains, Union Pacific officials said.

While the problem is worst during morning and evening commutes, residents have complained that weekends are a problem as well.

Using locomotives on both ends of the train, a measure that increases fuel efficiency but also produces more noise, compounds the problem.

Union Pacific is partnering with Metra in series of initiatives that are designed to reduce downtime to enhance public safety, reduce delays by 50 percent and grade crossing downtime by 11 percent.

Two high-speed crossovers, one in Wheaton and the other in Lombard, will be installed at the railroad's expense, which will get a grant from the Illinois State Commerce Commission to defray costs.

With no other crossovers between Elmhurst and West Chicago, trains have no ability to switch from one track to another to avoid bottlenecks.

Village President Mark Pfefferman asked why the problem persisted on weekends when there was little in the way of Metra commuting.

"We tend to run more trains," Giandinoto said.

Trustee Carl Henninger pointed out that westbound trains were a problem, particularly in the area near Park Boulevard.

Zapler seemed surprised by that assertion.

Residents peppered the Union Pacific representatives with questions.

"We have seen a significant increase in train traffic," Gina Meyers said, noting that the noise problem was aggravated by the rear engines. She also asked if Union Pacific had plans to install a fourth track in Glen Ellyn.

"We have no plan whatsoever," Zapler said.

Anne Akamatsu noted that the railroad's own policies called for shutting down locomotives after 15 minutes of idling and asked, "How do you enforce them (the policy)?"

Zapler promised to look into the problem.

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Union Pacific Corporation Declares Quarterly Dividend of 27 Cents Per Share

The Board of Directors of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) has declared a quarterly dividend of 27 cents per share on its common stock, payable April 1, 2010, to stockholders of record February 26, 2010.

Union Pacific has paid dividends on its common stock for 111 consecutive years.

Union Pacific Corporation owns one of America’s leading transportation companies :

Its principal operating company, Union Pacific Railroad, links 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country. Union Pacific serves many of the fastest-growing U.S. population centers and provides Americans with a fuel-efficient, environmentally responsible : and safe mode of freight transportation. Union Pacific’s diversified business mix includes Agricultural Products, Automotive, Chemicals, Energy, Industrial Products and Intermodal. The railroad emphasizes excellent customer service and offers competitive routes from all major West Coast and Gulf Coast ports to eastern gateways. Union Pacific connects with Canada’s rail systems and is the only railroad serving all six major gateways to Mexico, making it North America’s premier rail franchise.

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Union Pacific Railroad Investing Nearly $42 Million to Improve Rail Lines in Arizona

Union Pacific Railroad is investing nearly $42 million to improve its existing rail lines in Arizona. Projects under way in the first quarter 2010 include track renewal work in the Phoenix and Mesa areas, railroad tie replacement in Union Pacific's Phoenix and Tucson rail yards and railroad tie replacement on Union Pacific's main line between Casa Grande and Yuma.

When work is complete, crews will have installed 156,000 wood and 58,000 concrete railroad ties and 24 miles of welded rail and spread 140,000 tons of rock ballast to ensure a stable roadbed. The projects began in January and are scheduled to be completed by the end of May. The concrete ties for this project are being produced by Arizona-based companies.

Crews will complete these track improvement projects using Union Pacific's modern track renewal train, the TRT 909. The TRT 909 installs rail and concrete ties in one pass, and can install up to 5,000 ties in a twelve-hour day. Approximately 30 rail cars - each carrying 210 concrete ties - are part of the TRT. Three sets of gantry cranes move the concrete ties forward for the TRT to drop into place and the machine then threads the new rail onto the ties. The old wooden ties are picked up and the discarded rail threaded out as the machine works its way down the track. A conveyor moves the removed ties into position for the gantry cranes to load them onto the cars for movement to a facility for sorting. The TRT 909 can install concrete, composite and wooden ties.

At the Phoenix and Tucson rail yards, crews are stabilizing the track foundation by adding ballast and replacing 46,000 ties. The work will improve operating efficiencies and help Union Pacific continue to enhance the safety of its operations.

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