Goodwill and other intangible assets

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Note 10. Goodwill and other intangible assets

A reconciliation of the change in the carrying value of goodwill is as follows (in millions).

	September 30,			December 31,
	2011			2010
Balance at beginning of year	$	49,006		$	33,972
Acquisition of businesses		4,325			15,069
Other		(21	)		(35	)
Balance at end of period	$	53,310		$	49,006

Intangible assets other than goodwill are included in other assets in the Consolidated Balance Sheets and are summarized by type as follows (in millions).

	September 30, 2011				December 31, 2010
	Gross carrying amount		Accumulated amortization		Gross carrying amount		Accumulated amortization
Insurance and other	$	10,699	$	2,126	$	6,944	$	1,816
Railroad, utilities and energy		2,089		549		2,082		306
	$	12,788	$	2,675	$	9,026	$	2,122

Trademarks and trade names	$	2,566	$	205	$	2,027	$	166
Patents and technology		4,971		1,323		2,922		1,013
Customer relationships		3,831		753		2,676		612
Other		1,420		394		1,401		331
	$	12,788	$	2,675	$	9,026	$	2,122

Amortization expense was $565 million for the first nine months of 2011 and $521 million for the first nine months of 2010. Intangible assets with indefinite lives as of September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010 were $2,040 million and $1,635 million, respectively.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the aggregate amount of goodwill and a description of intangible assets, which may include (a) for amortizable intangible assets (also referred to as finite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, the amount of any significant residual value, and the weighted-average amortization period, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization (also referred to as indefinite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, and (c) the amount of research and development assets acquired and written off in the period, including the line item in the income statement in which the amounts written off are aggregated, if not readily apparent from the income statement. Also discloses (a) for amortizable intangibles assets in total and by major class, the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization, the total amortization expense for the period, and the estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization the carrying amount in total and by major class, and (c) for goodwill, in total and for each reportable segment, the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill during the period (including the aggregate amount of goodwill acquired, the aggregate amount of impairment losses recognized, and the amount of goodwill included in the gain (loss) on disposal of a reporting unit). If any part of goodwill has not been allocated to a reportable segment, discloses the unallocated amount and the reasons for not allocating. For each impairment loss recognized related to an intangible asset (excluding goodwill), discloses: (a) a description of the impaired intangible asset and the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method for determining fair value, (c) the caption in the income statement or the statement of activities in which the impairment loss is aggregated, and (d) the segment in which the impaired intangible asset is reported. For each goodwill impairment loss recognized, discloses: (a) a description of the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method of determining the fair value of the associated reporting unit, and (c) if a recognized impairment loss is an estimate not finalized and the reasons why the estimate is not final. May also disclose the nature and amount of any significant adjustments made to a previous estimate of an impairment loss.

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