The LookoutBuffett: Economy may pick up sooner than Fed thinks
Warren Buffett is sounding a little more bullish on the U.S. economy than most other observers right do now.
The sage of Omaha told Charlie Rose in an interview last night that he thinks conditions may improve faster than the Federal Reserve expects.
He called the Fed's announcement last week that it will hold interest rates near zero for two more years "a very, very stark statement" by the central bank that the economy is in trouble, adding: "I think there's a chance they're wrong . . . . I think it may pick up before then."
Buffett (pictured above), who wrote in the New York Times Monday that rich people like himself should pay more taxes, said the country is "making progress" in dealing with the excess housing inventory, vacated in the wake of the 2008 collapse, that continues to exert a drag on the economy.
The billionaire CEO of Berkshire Hathaway also said he disagreed "100 percent" with Standard & Poor's downgrade of the U.S. credit rating last week, because the United States will always be able to repay its debts.
