Buffett says inflation an issue for Berkshire, it ‘swindles almost everybody’

Traders and company arrive for the primary in-person annual assembly since 2019 of Berkshire Hathaway Inc in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. April 29, 2022. REUTERS/Scott Morgan

OMAHA, Neb., April 30 (Reuters) – Warren Buffett stated on Saturday that inflation “swindles virtually everyone” and that it was “extraordinary” how a lot inflation had been seen in Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s (BRKa.N) personal companies.

Inflation has surged in america, hitting a brand new 40-year annualized excessive of 6.6% in March, and U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers seem set to ship a sequence of aggressive rate of interest hikes to chill costs. learn extra

Buffett stated he didn’t know what degree inflation can be within the subsequent month or decade, however that rising costs had been having an affect.

“Inflation in our personal enterprise, it is extraordinary how a lot we have seen,” Buffett stated. “For 2 years the costs have saved coming in greater.”

Berkshire famous value will increase in a few of its companies when it reported earnings.

Geico, the auto insurer, posted an underwriting loss within the first quarter as a result of loss claims rose as used automobile costs and components surged greater.

“Inflation swindles the bond investor … it swindles the one that retains their money beneath their mattress, it swindles virtually everyone,” Buffett stated.

Reporting by Carolina Mandl in Omaha, Nebraska, and Megan Davies in New York; Enhancing by Daniel Wallis

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