Buffett: "Thanks to stimulus, US economy revived... Apple stock is very cheap"

[Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Warren Buffett (90), the 'investment genius' and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, diagnosed on the 1st (local time) at the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting held in Los Angeles (LA) that the U.S. economy has "revived" thanks to the government's active stimulus measures.

According to Yahoo Finance and others, Buffett mentioned the Federal Reserve's (Fed) accommodative monetary policy and the large fiscal package passed by Congress, saying, "The economy has revived in an astonishingly efficient way." Buffett assessed that "the policies have worked" and "85% of the U.S. economy is running at high speed."

The Berkshire shareholders meeting was held online for the second consecutive year due to the COVID-19 situation, and this year's meeting was broadcast live via Yahoo Finance.

Buffett regretted selling some shares despite making significant paper gains from Apple investments last year.

Berkshire sold 3.7% of its Apple shares held in the fourth quarter of last year. As of the end of March, Berkshire Hathaway owned Apple shares worth $111 billion (approximately 124 trillion won).

Buffett said, "We had the opportunity to buy Apple and sold some shares last year," adding, "That was probably a mistake." He praised Apple shares as "incredibly cheap" and said, "Apple products are essential items that people cannot live without." He continued, "The role Apple products play in people's lives is enormous," and added, "If people were asked to give up either a car or Apple, they would give up the car."

Buffett, who revealed last year at the shareholders meeting that he had sold all airline stocks, faced criticism due to the subsequent surge in those stocks, but on this day, he firmly stated, "I still do not want to buy airline stocks," showing no interest.