Buffet:
Economy still 'in shambles'
"I get figures from 70-odd businesses..everything I
see about the economy is that we've no bounce," says
billionaire investor dismissing recent talk of recovery.
CNBC.
June 25, 2009
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," he told Becky
Quick.
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.
In
full: http://www.cnbc.com/id/31526130
