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Management’s Discussion (Continued)<br />
Equity Price Risk (Continued)<br />
We often hold equity investments for long periods of time so we are not troubled by short-term price volatility with respect<br />
to our investments provided that the underlying business, economic and management characteristics of the investees remain<br />
favorable. We strive to maintain above average levels of shareholder capital to provide a margin of safety against short-term<br />
price volatility.<br />
Market prices for equity securities are subject to fluctuation and consequently the amount realized in the subsequent sale of<br />
an investment may significantly differ from the reported market value. Fluctuation in the market price of a security may result<br />
from perceived changes in the underlying economic characteristics of the investee, the relative price of alternative investments<br />
and general market conditions.<br />
We are also subject to equity price risk with respect to our equity index put option contracts. While our ultimate potential<br />
loss with respect to these contracts is determined from the movement of the underlying stock index between the contract<br />
inception date and expiration date, fair values of these contracts are also affected by changes in other factors such as interest<br />
rates, expected dividend rates and the remaining duration of the contract. These contracts expire between 2018 and 2026 and<br />
may not be unilaterally settled before their respective expiration dates.<br />
The following table summarizes our equity and other investments and derivative contract liabilities with significant equity<br />
price risk as of December 31, 2013 and 2012. The effects of a hypothetical 30% increase and a 30% decrease in market prices as<br />
of those dates are also shown. The selected 30% hypothetical changes do not reflect what could be considered the best or worst<br />
case scenarios. Indeed, results could be far worse due both to the nature of equity markets and the aforementioned<br />
concentrations existing in our equity investment portfolio. Dollar amounts are in millions.<br />
Fair Value<br />
Hypothetical<br />
Price Change<br />
Estimated<br />
Fair Value after<br />
Hypothetical<br />
Change in Prices<br />
Hypothetical<br />
Percentage<br />
Increase (Decrease) in<br />
Shareholders’ Equity<br />
December 31, 2013<br />
Assets:<br />
Equity securities ............................ $117,505 30% increase $152,757 10.3<br />
30% decrease 82,254 (10.3)<br />
Other investments (1) ......................... 13,226 30% increase 17,172 1.2<br />
30% decrease 9,359 (1.1)<br />
Liabilities:<br />
Equity index put option contracts ............... 4,667 30% increase 2,873 0.5<br />
30% decrease 7,987 (1.0)<br />
December 31, 2012<br />
Assets:<br />
Equity securities ............................ $ 88,346 30% increase $116,357 9.7<br />
30% decrease 61,408 (9.3)<br />
Other investments (1) ......................... 10,136 30% increase 12,775 0.9<br />
30% decrease 7,664 (0.9)<br />
Liabilities:<br />
Equity index put option contracts ............... 7,502 30% increase 5,009 0.9<br />
30% decrease 11,482 (1.4)<br />
(1) Includes other investments that possess significant equity price risk.<br />
Foreign Currency Risk<br />
We generally do not use derivative contracts to hedge foreign currency price changes primarily because of the natural<br />
hedging that occurs between assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies in our Consolidated Financial Statements.<br />
In addition, we hold investments in common stocks of major multinational companies such as The Coca-Cola Company that<br />
have significant foreign business and foreign currency risk of their own. Our net assets subject to translation are primarily in our<br />
insurance, utilities and energy businesses, and to a lesser extent in our manufacturing and services businesses. The translation<br />
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