Berkshire Hathaway’s 89-year-old billionaire investor Warren Buffett on Saturday said the United States’ capacity to withstand crises provides a silver lining as it combats the coronavirus, even as he acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic could significantly damage the economy and his investments.
Jonathan Stempel and Megan Davies for Reuters:
Over more than 4-1/2 hours at the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway Inc, Buffett said his conglomerate has taken many steps responding to the pandemic, including providing cash to struggling operating units, and throwing in the towel on a multi-billion-dollar bet on U.S. airlines.
Buffett also said he remains keen on making a big acquisition, which he has not done since 2016, but has not provided financial support to companies as he did during the 2008 financial crisis because he saw nothing attractive enough, even after the recent bear market…
The meeting began several hours after Berkshire reported a record $49.75 billion first-quarter net loss, reflecting huge unrealized losses on common stock holdings such as Bank of America Corp and Apple Inc during the market meltdown…
He said Americans have persevered and prospered through such crises as the Civil War in the 1860s, the influenza pandemic a century ago and the Great Depression. American “magic” prevailed before and would do again, he said. “Nothing can stop America when you get right down to it,” Buffett said. “I will bet on America the rest of my life.”
MacDailyNews Take: As he often is, Buffett is right: Nothing can stop America! Berkshire Hathaway is Apple’s biggest shareholder with a 5.4% stake.
America is always stronger when we do things together. — Apple CEO Tim Cook