MOP Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Warren Buffett to CNBC: U.S. Economy In "Shambles" .. No Signs of Recovery YetPublished: Wednesday, 24 Jun 2009 | 1:33 PM In a live interview on CNBC today, Warren Buffett said there has been little progress over the past few months in the "economic war" being fought by the country. "We haven't got the economy moving yet." While the economy is a "shambles" and likely to stay that way for some time, he remains optimistic there will eventually be a recovery over a period of years. BECKY: The last time we sat down to talk to you was on May 4, and at that point you told us that you think we're in an economic war right now. How much progress do you think we've made in that war? BUFFETT: Well, it's been pretty flat. I get figures on 70-odd businesses, a lot of them daily. Everything that I see about the economy is that we've had no bounce. The financial system was really where the crisis was last September and October, and that's been surmounted and that's enormously important. But in terms of the economy coming back, it takes a while. There were a lot of excesses to be wrung out and that process is still underway and it looks to me like it will be underway for quite a while. In the (Berkshire Hathaway) annual report I said the economy would be in a shambles this year and probably well beyond. I'm afraid that's true. Buffett also noted that he had a cataract operation on his left eye about a month ago. He joked that he thought it might help him see "green shoots" for the economy, but so far he hasn't seen any hopeful signs. Taking a firm position in an ongoing debate in the financial markets, Buffett says he's not concerned about deflation, but thinks inflation will be a problem in coming years. Despite his negative view on the economy, Buffett still believes the stock market is attractive "over the next 10 years" when compared to alternatives like Treasury bonds. Buffett endorsed Ben Bernanke's reappointment as Federal Reserve Chairman, saying "you couldn't do better." He also praised Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. Asked about how Apple handled Steve Jobs' liver transplant, Buffett said it is a "material fact" when the CEO of a company is facing major surgery. He thinks criticism of Apple over the matter is appropriate. Buffett repeated his criticism of "cap and trade" as a method to control pollution, saying it would be a huge, regressive tax. http://www.cnbc.com/id/31526130 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrentyieldmakessense(honest!) Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Buffett endorsed Ben Bernanke's reappointment as Federal Reserve Chairman, saying "you couldn't do better." He also praised Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. eh but i suppose he has done well out of the system Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandare500 Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Although the best in the business, he's just a stock-picker, not much use in the current climate, nor for several years yet in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grey shark Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Warren Buffett to CNBC CNBC did a interview about 3 months ago with Buffet where he admitted "He didn't expect the US housing market to collapse , it might drop a bit but not collapse" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
interestrateripoff Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 CNBC did a interview about 3 months ago with Buffet where he admitted "He didn't expect the US housing market to collapse , it might drop a bit but not collapse" Hadn't he read the papers then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Tulip Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Interesting that he says that he has not seen a bounce - pity he did not follow though and question why the markets were moving up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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