{"id":113356,"date":"2021-05-01T20:10:53","date_gmt":"2021-05-01T20:10:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?p=113356"},"modified":"2021-05-01T20:10:53","modified_gmt":"2021-05-01T20:10:53","slug":"warren-buffett-touts-u-s-economys-unexpected-strength-as-berkshire-rebounds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/warren-buffett-touts-u-s-economys-unexpected-strength-as-berkshire-rebounds\/","title":{"rendered":"Warren Buffett touts U.S. economy's unexpected strength as Berkshire rebounds"},"content":{"rendered":"
(Reuters) – Warren Buffett said on Saturday that the U.S. economy is faring far better than he might have predicted early in the coronavirus pandemic and that the improvement is benefiting his conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway Inc.<\/p> Speaking at Berkshire\u2019s annual meeting, Buffett said the economy has been \u201cresurrected in an extraordinarily effective way\u201d by monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve and fiscal stimulus from the U.S. Congress.<\/p>\n \u201cIt did the job,\u201d Buffett said, adding that 85% of the economy is running in \u201csuper high gear.\u201d<\/p>\n The annual meeting was held in Los Angeles, where the 90-year-old Buffett joined Berkshire\u2019s 97-year-old vice chairman Charlie Munger, to answer more than three hours of shareholder questions.<\/p>\n Berkshire scrapped for a second year its annual shareholder weekend in its Omaha, Nebraska, hometown, an extravaganza that normally attracts around 40,000 shareholders. Saturday\u2019s meeting was broadcast on Yahoo Finance.<\/p>\n Many of Berkshire\u2019s dozens of operating units have been rebounding as anxiety over COVID-19 lessens, more people get vaccinated, stimulus checks are spent, business restrictions are eased, and confidence about the economy grows.<\/p>\n Gross domestic product, a broad measure of the U.S. economy, grew at an annualized 6.4% rate from January to March, according to an advance estimate by the government.<\/p>\n Some economists project the economy will grow in 2021 at the fastest rate in nearly four decades.<\/p>\n Buffett had been relatively subdued at last year\u2019s annual meeting, despite expressing confidence that the country\u2019s historic resiliency to big problems, which he called the \u201cAmerican miracle,\u201d would prevail again.<\/p>\n Berkshire\u2019s meeting came after the company said first-quarter profit rose 20% to about $7 billion, while net income including investments totaled $11.7 billion..<\/p>\n Results benefited from better-than-expected underwriting at Geico, more shopping at retailers including Berkshire\u2019s car dealerships, See\u2019s Candies and the Nebraska Furniture Mart, and a near doubling of profit at the Clayton Homes mobile home unit.<\/p>\n Berkshire also repurchased $6.6 billion of its own stock in the first quarter, following a record $24.7 billion last year.<\/p>\n Despite the buybacks, Berkshire ended March with $145.4 billion of cash. Buffett\u2019s last major acquisition was more than five years ago.<\/p>\n Shareholders were expected at the meeting to vote on proposals requiring Berkshire to disclose more about its efforts to address climate change and promote diversity and inclusion in its workforce.<\/p>\n Buffett opposes both proposals. He controls nearly one-third of Berkshire\u2019s voting power, and the proposals will likely be defeated.<\/p>\n