Warren Buffett: global economy sluggish; Bernanke should stay
Warren Buffett thinks the global economy is slowing, but the US is 'inching ahead'. In a wide-ranging interview, Buffett also said that the best thing for the economy would be for Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke to stay on the job for a third term.
In this 2011 file photo, US billionaire investor Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, attends the opening ceremony of a plant at the headquarters of cemented carbide tool supplier Tungaloy Corporation in Iwaki city, in Northern Japan. In a wide ranging interview with CNBC, Buffett said that Asia's economy is declining at a faster rate than Europe's and that he would vote Ben Bernanke into another term as Federal Reserve chairman.
Shuji Kajiyama/AP/File
Warren聽Buffett聽sees clear signs that the global economy is slowing, although the U.S. economy is "inching ahead" as other regions decline, the Berkshire聽Hathaway聽chief executive officer said on Wednesday.
Yet despite the weakness,聽Buffett聽said he was "salivating" to make another major acquisition, adding that two deals of around $20 billion each had fallen through this year.
In an interview on CNBC,聽Buffett聽said the rate of decline was larger in聽Asia聽than in聽Europe, although the Asian economies are declining off a higher base.
At the same time, he said Berkshire's U.S. housing-related businesses were growing at double-digit percentage rates of late.
Buffett聽has maintained that the economy will not truly start to turn around until the housing market improves, and he said Wednesday that housing had clearly started to turn.
Berkshire is heavily exposed to housing construction, as it owns a brick maker, a carpet maker, a realtor and the largest builder of manufactured homes.
Yet even with growth from its existing portfolio companies, Berkshire is always on the hunt to expand by acquisition.
Buffett聽told CNBC: "I'm salivating" to spend some of Berkshire's $40 billion cash pile on a deal. At Berkshire's annual meeting in May, he said a $20 billion deal had recently fallen through, and on Wednesday he acknowledged a second one had come apart as well.
He did not give any indication as to what kinds of companies were involved.
In a wide-ranging interview from an event in聽Ohio,聽Buffett聽also said the best thing for the economy would be for U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman聽Ben Bernanke聽to stay on for a third term.
With the presidential race running neck-and-neck, there has been speculation of late that Republican candidate聽Mitt Romney, if elected, would seek a new Fed chairman when Bernanke's term expires in 2014.聽Buffett聽disagreed with the idea.
"I would vote for Bernanke again, and I'd get my kids out and everybody else to vote for him," he said.