Buffett feasts

Berkshire Hathaway re ported a 14 percent jump in second-quarter profit as the improving stock market boosted the value of Warren Buffett’s deriv ative contracts and its in vestments. Yesterday the company reported $3.3 billion in net income, or $2,123 per share, for the quarter ending June 30.

Fred’s funk

Freddie Mac, the gov ernment-controlled mortgage finance com pany, posted a quarterly loss of $374 million, or 11 cents a share, including $1.1 billion in dividends paid to the government. Excluding those pay ments, the company would have earned $768 million.

FHLB woe

Federal regulators clas sified the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle as “undercapitalized” by $466.7 million for its first quarter, the bank said in a regulatory filing. The Se attle bank lost $16.2 mil lion in the first quarter.

Fed up

The Federal Reserve says consumers paid down their credit cards and reduced other debt in June for the fifth straight month. Americans cut their outstanding con sumer debt by $10.3 bil lion, or 4.9 percent, to $2.5 trillion in June, it said.

Crude moves

Oil prices are surging, with a barrel of crude jumping roughly $10 in four weeks. Traders erased some gains yester day by focusing on grow- ing petroleum supplies. Benchmark crude for Sep tember delivery gave up $1.01 to settle at $70.93 a barrel on the Nymex.