Buffett: U.S. still in recession
OMAHA, Nebraska (AP) — Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said Friday the U.S. economy continues to be in a recession, by his definition, and will continue to be for at least several more months.
During a live appearance on CNBC, Buffett said ripples of the credit crunch are continuing to cause problems in financial businesses and the economy.
Earlier this year he said a financial crisis reveals which players have been swimming naked, because the tide goes out. That picture has worsened along with the crisis.
We found out that Wall Street has been kind of a nudist beach, said Buffett, who is chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., which is based in Omaha.
Buffett said activity at businesses Berkshire owns, especially ones related to housing construction such as Shaw carpet and Acme Brick, continued to slow during the summer.
He is confident the U.S. will be doing better five years from now, Buffett said, but the economy could be worse five months from now.
Buffett said the economy is in a recession because most Americans aren’t doing as well today as before. The technical definition of a recession most economists use is two consecutive quarters of negative growth in the nation’s gross domestic product.
