Warren Buffett says he is worried about the prospect for "significant inflation" in the United States and elsewhere, and that the Greek debt crisis has the potential for "high drama."
Buffett also said he is seeing real signs of improvement in the economy, especially in manufacturing, though it will take another year for a sustainable housing recovery to take hold.
Buffett also said his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has only limited exposure to currency fluctuations, mainly through investments in businesses such as reinsurers and marketable securities.
Speaking at Berkshire's annual shareholders meeting on Saturday in Omaha, Neb., Buffett said the company has a large share of its fortunes tied to the euro, largely from investments in European companies.
Unlike other prominent investors like hedge fund manager George Soros, Buffett has steered clear of large currency bets in recent years, and has said that while he looks worldwide for investments, he would be happy making investment bets mainly in the United States.
However, after many central banks worldwide drove interest rates to record or near-record lows and funneled trillions of dollars of stimuli into economies worldwide as the 2008 financial crisis set in, Buffett said he sees a chance for inflation to rear its head.
"The prospects for significant inflation have increased, not only here but around the world," Buffett told roughly 40,000 shareholders at the meeting. "Weaning ourselves from the medicine" may be more difficult than enacting the stimuli in the first place, he said.
Read More: http://moneynews.com/Headline/warren...mo_code=9D90-1
Buffett also said he is seeing real signs of improvement in the economy, especially in manufacturing, though it will take another year for a sustainable housing recovery to take hold.
Buffett also said his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has only limited exposure to currency fluctuations, mainly through investments in businesses such as reinsurers and marketable securities.
Speaking at Berkshire's annual shareholders meeting on Saturday in Omaha, Neb., Buffett said the company has a large share of its fortunes tied to the euro, largely from investments in European companies.
Unlike other prominent investors like hedge fund manager George Soros, Buffett has steered clear of large currency bets in recent years, and has said that while he looks worldwide for investments, he would be happy making investment bets mainly in the United States.
However, after many central banks worldwide drove interest rates to record or near-record lows and funneled trillions of dollars of stimuli into economies worldwide as the 2008 financial crisis set in, Buffett said he sees a chance for inflation to rear its head.
"The prospects for significant inflation have increased, not only here but around the world," Buffett told roughly 40,000 shareholders at the meeting. "Weaning ourselves from the medicine" may be more difficult than enacting the stimuli in the first place, he said.
Read More: http://moneynews.com/Headline/warren...mo_code=9D90-1
Comment