Relax! Millionaire Confidence Is Back

You know when Warren Buffett gets out his elephant gun, we’re back in business.

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CNBC.com

The billionaire next door said in his annual letter to shareholders this weekend that “Now, as in 1776, 1861, 1932 and 1941, America’s best days lie ahead,” and added that he thinks a housing recovery will likely begin in the next year.

And, just to show that he’s willing to put his elephant gun where his mouth is, Buffett joked that his “elephant gun has been reloaded, and my trigger finger is itchy,” meaning, he’s ready to start making some big acquisitions.

Buffett’s opinion is one of the most closely watched in the financial world but it was really just the cherry on top of a very expensive ice cream sundae: His letter came after the Spectrem Group reported last week that its millionaire confidence index (oh yes, there is such a thing) jumped 15 points to 17, the first time in three years that the index has reached “mildly bullish territory.”“America’s wealthiest investors appear to be moving past their lingering post-recession concerns,” said George H. Walper, Jr., president of Spectrem Group.

So relax, America! Now that America’s millionaires and billionaires are feeling better about the economy, it’s just a matter of time before the rest of us catch a whiff of their optimism.

The Pony blog has always been about finding a Pony, i.e. a bright side, in the midst of the recession — but maybe what we should’ve been looking for was an elephant!

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