Why Warren Buffett has built a mighty cash mountain

Results released by Berkshire Hathaway on August 3rd gave watchers more reason than normal to take note. The company announced that it had cut its stake in Apple by almost half, to $84bn. Its holdings of cash and Treasury bills increased from $189bn in the first quarter of the year to $277bn at the end of June. The backdrop to the announcement was dismal. Stockmarkets were in the midst of a sell-off, after weaker-than-expected data on American employment had provoked worries about the strength of the world’s largest economy.