Buffett: 'Don't See How You Could Do Better' Than Bernanke

World's richest man and super-investor Warren Buffett just gave Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke a ringing endorsement -- something that President Obama has yet to do.

In an interview concluded moments ago on CNBC, Buffett was asked whether Bernanke should be reappointed to head the Fed: "I don't see how you could do better" thank Bernanke, said Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and a director of The Washington Post Co.

"Bernanke did a fabulous job" in coping with the financial sector crisis last fall, Buffett said.

Buffett said the U.S. economy is a long way from recovery.

"I get figures on 70-odd businesses, sometimes daily," Buffett said. "And from everything I see, we have had no bounce."

He said he has yet to see any "green shoots" of recovery, noting, for instance, diminished demand for industrial electricity from utilities Berkshire Hathaway holds.

He said the economy still has "a lot of excesses that need to be wrung out" and is skeptical of federal legislation aimed at overhauling the financial regulatory system: "It is very hard to set up rules to prevent excess in the system," he said.

Buffett is prepping his annual charity have-lunch-with-Warren event. Last year, hedge fund manager Zhao Danyang paid $2.1 million to eat with Buffett. Bidding ends Friday for this year's lunch.

-- Frank Ahrens
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