WARREN BUFFETT: If I were in charge of monetary policy, 'I probably wouldn't do much'
That's what the oracle of Omaha said when he was asked about how he'd handle US monetary policy. The question came fro CNBC's Becky Quick at the JD Power Automotive Forum.
Since the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve has kept short-term interest rates near zero in its effort to boost lending activity and increase liquidity in the financial markets. All of this was to have the intended effect of boosting inflation and lowering unemployment.
But with the economy now on a decent growth path and unemployment tumbling, most economists expect the Fed to begin tightening monetary policy via interest rate hikes in either June or September.
Buffett seemed to suggest that'd he'd be in no hurry to hike rates. He pointed to the ongoing weakness in Europe as a reason why the Fed wouldn't want to disturb the current easy monetary policy status quo.
"Things are working pretty well," he said.
He didn't seem too interested in dwelling on monetary policy. Rather he emphasized that the timing of the next interest rate hike would not have a material impact on the investment decisions made by himself and the folks at Berkshire Hathaway.