CEO BIRKHEL: JAPANESE BOND YIELDS HAVE NOT YET CHALLENGED TRADING COMPANIES

ON 2 SEPTEMBER, GREG ABEL, CEO OF BRK.A.N., BRK.B.N., STATED THAT THE RISE IN THE RATE OF RETURN ON JAPANESE BONDS DID NOT AFFECT THE COMPANY ' S MAJOR JAPANESE TRADING COMPANY, WHICH HELD SHARES. ABEL STATED THAT, WHILE JAPAN'S HIGH RATE OF RETURN WAS THE HOT SPOT OF CURRENT MARKET CONCERN AND JAPAN'S 10-YEAR NATIONAL DEBT RETURN HAD REACHED ITS HIGHEST LEVEL IN 30 YEARS THIS WEEK, AT LEAST FOR THE COUNTRY'S MAJOR TRADING COMPANIES, THE SITUATION REMAINED MANAGEABLE. “NO TRADING COMPANY CURRENTLY SEES THIS AS A FUNDAMENTAL CHALLENGE.” HE ADDED THAT THE RATE OF RETURN ON JAPANESE BONDS WAS “RELATIVELY MODERATE IN ABSOLUTE TERMS” AND NOTED THAT ALTHOUGH JAPAN HAD BEEN AT A HIGH LEVEL FOR DECADES, IT REMAINED LOW COMPARED TO THE RATE OF RETURN ON OTHER BONDS WORLDWIDE. ABEL ALSO INDICATED THAT, DESPITE THE HIGH RATE OF RETURN ON JAPANESE BONDS, HE ANTICIPATED THAT BIRKHEL WOULD FINANCE IT, WHERE APPROPRIATE, THROUGH THE ISSUANCE OF A JAPANESE YEN DEBT. KIM XIAN