NEW YORK -- Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has bucked the trend of socially responsible investing by acquiring 5%-plus stakes in five Japanese trading houses deeply involved in fossil-fuel-linked businesses.
Buffett's contrarian bets sent shares in the five companies -- Itochu, Marubeni, Mitsubishi Corp., Mitsui & Co., and Sumitomo Corp. -- soaring in the Tokyo market on Monday, even though their earnings have been languishing amid low resource prices.
