Buffett: I probably will, after hearing about it today. And I ran into a number of people that have Kindles and who are just in love with them. In fact, a woman that is the wife of another attendee here, came in on the plane with us, and she was using a Kindle and was wildly enthusiastic about it.
Julia: So this is going to be your new technology?
Buffett: Well, who knows? I mean, I kind of edge into technology. I'm just getting into the 20th century. I'll be working on the 21st century pretty soon, yeah. (Laughs.)
Julia: What is the mood at this conference this year?
Buffett: Well, the mood .. I would say that people just love being here. That's what happens. I was at a barbeque last night and everybody had such a good time. So I have not yet heard a discouraging word, as we say in Wyoming. (Laughs.) But, I'm sure some of the people have got their own problems in their own businesses, but nobody's talked about it yet.
Julia: What's your sense in terms of the economy? You have some thoughts on the economy.
Buffett: Well, I can tell you that from a certain amount of real-time information that I get from our businesses and elsewhere, things have, the decline has accelerated in the last, I would say, six weeks. So things are getting worse at a more rapid rate than they were two or three months ago.
Julia: And how are the numbers that you're seeing compared to the sense in the markets right now? Do you think it's worse than people think?
Buffett: That's hard to tell because I don't know what... And incidentally, we've made the most money by buying when things are terrible. I mean, if you go back to 1974 and 5, when we were buying heavily, things were getting worse week by week. So there's not necessarily any correlation between what's going on in the economy and what is going on, or should go on in the market. The cheaper you buy things, the better off you're going to be, if you hold them for a long time.
Julia: You always do very well in weak markets. What kind of deals are you looking for now?
Buffett: Good ones. (Laughs.) How's that for a specific answer? (Laughs.)
Julia: Your stock is off about 25 percent from the high.
Buffett: From the high, yeah.
Julia: Do you think about that? Are you worried about that?
Buffett: I never look at it. I could not tell you what it's selling for. It doesn't make any difference. I can't tell you what its selling for on April 9, 1993. It doesn't make any difference. I'm going to hold it forever. I'll be giving it away. But, it just doesn't make any difference. The important thing is whether we're building value at Berkshire.
Julia: In this type of economic situation are there certain sectors that you think provide more opportunity for you than others?
Buffett: Well, the cheapest sectors provide the most opportunity. And I just keep looking at everything.