Warren Buffett speaks on Eurozone, health, social networks
Billionaire Warren Buffett says he avoids buying into businesses like Facebook because it's too hard to estimate what they might be worth.
Over the weekend, Berkshire Hathaway held its annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, a festival that draws nearly 40,000 people for an hours-long question-and-answer session with Buffett and Berkshire Vice Chairman Charlie Munger.
On Facebook and Google:
Buffett said on Monday that he doesn't really have an opinion on Facebook and Google because it's hard to determine their value and how they will fare in the future. Over the weekend, Buffett also told Berkshire Hathaway shareholders that initial public offerings are almost always bad investments. He says there is so much hype involved that IPOs won't be the most-attractive value.
On Investing
Buffett said that one of the worst mistakes investors make is buying or selling based on the day's headlines. He says investors should be looking for good businesses to buy and trying to determine how those companies will fare in 10 years.
On Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway is adding to its shareholdings of two US companies amid a market dip, Buffett said on Monday. Buffett, Berkshire's controlling shareholder, also forecast record results this year for Berkshire's largest non-insurance businesses, among them railroad BNSF and utility MidAmerican.Buffett declined to identify the two portfolio stocks Berkshire was purchasing more of. He said Berkshire spent $60 million buying stocks last Friday and would buy more on Monday. It was not clear if the $60 million was spent on just two stocks.It was during that session that Buffett revealed he had very nearly made an acquisition of more than $22 billion recently, which would have been one of his biggest ever.
On Euro Zone
In an interview to a US television network from just outside his conglomerate's home base in Omaha, Nebraska, he dismissed the dip in European shares after weekend elections in France and Greece."It's going to be very, very difficult to resolve their problems," he said of the euro zone countries, but he insisted they would do so eventually.
On his health:
The 81-year-old Buffett, recently diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer, spent much of the day assuring shareholders he was in good health.
On Walmart
During the interview, Buffett reiterated his support for Wal-Mart Stores Inc, saying a scandal over bribe payments in Mexico did not change his opinion of the stock. He is Wal-Mart's fifth-largest shareholder.
(With inputs from Associated Press and Thomson-Reuters)