Interview with Warren Buffet
Warren Buffett said his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. spent about US$4 billion acquiring stocks since February as new portfolio manager Todd Combs added two holdings.
"We bought some equities that we probably spent US$4 billion on," Buffett told Bloomberg Television's Betty Liu on the "In the Loop" program today, in an interview from Sun Valley, Idaho. "They're in the space of common stocks."
Buffett, 80, is overseeing changes in Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire's portfolio after a switch in investment managers last year. He's also wagering on continued economic expansion, even as the U.S. unemployment rate climbs. Buffett said he doesn't expect a second recession.
"I would bet very heavily against that," Buffett. "How fast the recovery will come, I don't know. I see nothing that indicates any kind of a double dip."
Buffett's firm bought MasterCard Inc. shares in the first quarter, the only publicly disclosed addition to Berkshire's U.S. stock holdings. Berkshire applied to regulators for confidential treatment in the period so he could delay disclosure of some trades. Combs, 40, a former hedge-fund manager, may add to the assets he oversees and doesn't have to check with Berkshire management before trading, Buffett said.
"He could be buying stocks as we talk," Buffett said. "He has designated a block of money, which he designated, and he can increase or decrease that block at his call."
Combs was assigned to initially manage US$1 billion to US$3 billion, Buffett said in his most recent annual letter. Combs will focus on equities and was permitted to invest in other types of securities, according to the letter.
Warren Buffett said his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. spent about US$4 billion acquiring stocks since February as new portfolio manager Todd Combs added two holdings."We bought some equities that we probably spent US$4 billion on," Buffett told Bloomberg Television's Betty Liu on the "In the Loop" program today, in an interview from Sun Valley, Idaho. "They're in the space of common stocks."
Buffett, 80, is overseeing changes in Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire's portfolio after a switch in investment managers last year. He's also wagering on continued economic expansion, even as the U.S. unemployment rate climbs. Buffett said he doesn't expect a second recession.
"I would bet very heavily against that," Buffett. "How fast the recovery will come, I don't know. I see nothing that indicates any kind of a double dip."
Buffett's firm bought MasterCard Inc. shares in the first quarter, the only publicly disclosed addition to Berkshire's U.S. stock holdings. Berkshire applied to regulators for confidential treatment in the period so he could delay disclosure of some trades. Combs, 40, a former hedge-fund manager, may add to the assets he oversees and doesn't have to check with Berkshire management before trading, Buffett said.
"He could be buying stocks as we talk," Buffett said. "He has designated a block of money, which he designated, and he can increase or decrease that block at his call."
Combs was assigned to initially manage US$1 billion to US$3 billion, Buffett said in his most recent annual letter. Combs will focus on equities and was permitted to invest in other types of securities, according to the letter.