When: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 at 7:45 AM
Where: "Squawk Box"
The following is the unofficial transcript of a CNBC interview with Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway CEO, on CNBC's "Squawk Box" today. All references must be sourced to CNBC.
In the interview, Buffett discusses his stake in PetroChina, the economy, and China, among other topics.
CARL:IF YOU'RE JUST WAKING UP, MERRILL LYNCH COMING OUT WITH AN ADDITIONAL TWO-AND-A-HALF BILLION DOLLARS IN WRITEOFFS FOR THE 3RD QUARTER. WE HAVE BECKY QUICK TRAVELLING WITH WARREN BUFFETT IN CHINA THIS MORNING. THEY ARRIVED IN DALIAN, HOW LONG AGO BECKY?
BECKY: CARL, WE'VE BEEN HERE FOR JUST ABOUT TEN HOURS, LESS THAN 12 HOURS. WE ARRIVED THIS MORNING I BELIEVE AROUND 9:30. WE'VE JUST FINISHED UP FROM THAT DINNER WE TOLD YOU ABOUT. LAST TIME I CALLED IN YOU WERE ASKING ABOUT SOME OF THOSE PETRO CHINA HEADLINES, AND MY GUESS IS THAT HAPPENED BECAUSE MR. BUFFETT EARLIER TODAY, PROBABLY ABOUT THREE HOURS AGO, WAS AT A PRESS CONFERENCE WITH SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 35-50 JOURNALISTS HERE IN DALIAN. HE WAS ASKED A SERIES OF QUESTIONS ONE OF WHICH WAS WHAT ABOUT THAT PETRO CHINA STAKE. HE DID POINT OUT THAT HE HAS SOLD OFF HIS ENTIRE STAKE, AS HE SAID BEFORE. AND ALSO ADDED TO THAT TODAY THAT SINCE HE'S SOLD OFF, SINCE THAT NEWS WAS MADE, HE HAD WRITTEN A LETTER TO THE HEAD OF PETRO CHINA THANKING HIM FOR ALL OF HIS EFFORTS AND HIS WORK AND THE REASON HE SOLD OUT OF THAT STOCK IS BECAUSE IT HAD APPRECIATED SO MUCH. OF COURSE, THE STOCK'S TAKEN OFF SINCE THEN, AND HE POINTED THAT OUT AS WELL. HE HAD WRITTEN THAT LETTER TO MAKE SURE IT ARRIVED IN CHINA BEFORE HE DID TODAY. INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, AS YOU WERE POINTING OUT, THIS NEWS JUST COMING OUT, IT'S SOMETHING MR. BUFFETT AND I HAD BEEN TALKING ABOUT. WE JUST HEARD THE NEWS OURSELF, BUT HE'S HERE RIGHT NOW. I THOUGHT HE'D -- I'D PUT HIM ON WITH YOU. I HEAR YOU ALSO HAVE A FRIEND OF HIS ON THE SET, JACK WELCH, SO MAYBE THE TWO OF THEM COULD TALK A LITTLE ABOUT THAT. I'LL PUT HIM ON RIGHT NOW.
JOE: MR. BUFFETT --
BUFFETT: JACK?
JOE: HOW ARE YOU, IT'S JOE KERNAN.
BUFFETT: OH, HI, JOE.