Warren Buffett has changed his view on the U.S. economy.
In a live CNBC interview from Sun Valley with Becky Quick of “Squawk Box,” Buffett says the general economy’s growth has “tempered down” so that it is now “more or less flat.”
He does, however, see a “noticeable” pickup for residential housing from a “very low base” that “doesn’t amount to a whole lot yet, but it’s getting better.”
For months, Buffett had been seeing general U.S. economic growth held back by a weak residential housing market.
Buffett also says things are beginning to “slip pretty fast” in Europe, especially over the past six weeks. He’s confident “they’ll get it worked out” by ten years from now, but right now there’s no obvious answer. A big part of the problem: it’s not clear who is in charge, if anyone, and Europe doesn’t have its own “printing press.”
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Buffett says he “doesn’t know” if the euro will still be a currency ten years from now. He thinks the euro zone can’t exist as “originally designed.”
Despite the slowdown, Buffett says the U.S. economy is still doing better than “virtually any other big economy” around the world.
He says that “to some extent,” he is in a wait and see pattern on where the economy will going.
Asked about the scandal surrounding interest rate manipulation by Barclay’s and other banks, Buffett called it a “big deal” and “can of worms” that “shakes your faith in certain institutions.”
He believes Barclays CEO Bob Diamond had no choice except to resign.
