Billionaire Warren Buffett said today that the US economy could recover in five years, likening the current battle against prolonged recession as a Pearl Harbor-like situation during World War II.
'I think that economy will be fine in five years, but I wish we'd get there faster,' said Buffett, one of the world's richest men, in a television interview.
'America's best days are ahead, but how fast we'll go there is in question,' he said.
He described the current situation, in which unemployment is at a 25-year high and stocks have plunged to 12 year lows, as 'an economic Pearl Harbor' and 'an important war which could be won.'
Buffett, who heads the holding company Berkshire Hathaway, said the Federal Reserve's 'prompt and wise action' had prevented the situation from 'getting even worse' as the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates to virtually zero and took other steps to reign in turmoil.
'I've never seen Americans more fearful,' he said. 'It takes five minutes to become fearful, much more time to regain confidence. The system does not work without confidence,' he added.
