Warren Buffett, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway says that President Obama’s #1 job is to fix is the economy but even though we have “got the right person in the operating room, but it doesn’t mean the patient is going to leave the hospital tomorrow.”

In an exclusive interview with PBS’s Nightly Business Report, Warren Buffett tells anchor Susie Gharib, that America was in an “economic Pearl harbor” last September, that went for a nosedive after October 1st  2008.

According to Buffett, America’s credit system must be partially fixed in order for the economy to have a chance of starting to turn around. But whether a fiscal stimulus is going to do this, or whether tax cuts will provide the answer, nobody seems to really know.  Certainly not the economists! Buffett believes that when it comes to economics you can’t just do one thing and where the balance is struck on that will be a political question.

PBS airs a fascinating interview with America’s economic guru, Warren Buffett tonight to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Nightly Business Report.  Buffett shares his views on the newly inaugurated President Obama, the recession, his company Berkshire Hathaway, the Madoff scandal and his investing principles vis-a-vis a gloomy and uncertain economic outlook.

Make sure you tune into Nightly Business Report tonight – January 22nd 2008 at your local PBS station. Check here for local listings.

If you miss the interview for some reason, then check back here tomorrow for a link to the interview online.

Image credit: Fickr (Peter Duhon)

The F3DM, which does not look like a three wheeled motorcycle or a minivan shrunk quarter size as you may have come to expect, and instead looks like a normal sedan, will be buttressed in 2009 by the release in China of the F6DM sedan, and an entirely electric van, the E6, capable of seating seven.

American government regulations are what will keep all of those cars from hitting the US market right away, according to Chuanfu. Even so, he thinks that BYD will be able to release cars in the US and Europe by 2011. Regardless of the delay in getting the vehicles stateside, the new releases in China mean that the company will have three electric vehicles on the road in 2009, while no other major automaker has managed to produce even one.

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Since it was announced last week that a deal had been reached for the probable removal of four dams on the Klamath River, I’ve been ecstatic. The Klamath dams have been the cause of massive fish kills, are owned by the richest man in America Warren Buffett, do not provide green energy, have shut down west coast fisheries, and have hurt the Native American culture.  Of course, since the Bush administration negotiated the deal, I am wary there may be a hidden agenda for this once mighty river in my neighborhood.

Should the nonbinding deal go through, this would be the largest dam removal project in US history.  The alternative for PacificCorp to re-license the dams was to build fish ladders mandated by federal biologists costing $300 million. Dam removal is the cheapest option and the best decision for the health of endangered salmon on the Klamath River. The California Energy Commission reported PacifiCorp could save $101 million over the next 30 years if the dams were removed and replacement power bought.  As part of the deal, ratepayers will foot $200 million in removal cost, and California will ask voters to approve a $250 million bond.  Studies and analysis will occur until 2012, at which point the dams could be removed in 2020.  Under the deal, PacificCorp would receive immunity from the dams’ environmental liabilities.

Bush wanted the deal to remove the dams, yet his administration has always backed farmers in the dispute over water rights, such as when irrigation was shut off to under the Endangered Species Act in 2001. Even after the Klamath dams’ removal deal was announced on November 13, 2008,  Bush released a statement saying, “Together, we have produced an agreement that will greatly reduce the risk of future shutdowns of the irrigation system.“  Already, the Klamath deal is under attack for supporting farmers over fish. Many suspect the deal will shut down California water quality hearings that may have doomed the dams anyway.

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In a recent Op-Piece in the New York Times, Mr. Buffett explains his reasons for investing in US Equities and urges others to do the same.  He encourages investors to “be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.”  Warren may be speaking from the perspective of a patriot, but he is also a pretty darn savvy investor, consistently ranking among the richest people in the world.  He acknowledges that “people have a right to be wary of highly leveraged entities or businesses in weak competitive positions.  But fears regarding the long-term prosperity of the nation’s many sound companies make no sense. These businesses will indeed suffer earnings hiccups, as they always have. But most major companies will be setting new profit records 5, 10 and 20 years from now.”

If Warren’s betting on the US Economy, deal me in. 

Check out the rest of the article, on top of being an incredible investor, he is also a witty writer.  It is well worth the read. 

Photo Credit: By Photo Credit: One Trick Pony in FlickR’s via Flickr’s Media Commons

The four dams on the Klamath River in far Northern California are under relicensing, something that only occurs every 50 years. The dams are owned by billionaire Warren Buffett, who purchased Pacificorp, one of the lowest-cost electricity producers in the United States, three years ago. Many Californians were hopeful this purchase would mean the end to the dams, but their concerns for the salmon fell on deaf ears. Once again, Warren Buffett rebuffed salmon advocates.

On Saturday, May 3, 2008, American Indian tribes and salmon fisherman failed to gain a private audience with Buffett and were ignored at the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. Protesters shouted, “Un-dam the Klamath! Bring the salmon home!“, while shareholders enjoyed complimentary cocktails Friday night. For two years, an unprecedented alliance of tribes, businesses, conservation groups and commercial/recreational fishermen has tried to reach an agreement with Buffett for dam removal. Buffett said that his company would not decide the fate of the Klamath dams, but Berkshire will defer to regulators in California and Oregon. Ironically, dam removal is cheaper than building the fish ladders regulators are recommending.

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The most recent issue of Solar Today includes an article by Lester Brown of the Earth Policy Institute about the public outcry all across American which, in addition to the cost of the plants, has led to the cancellation of hundreds of coal plant construction projects. And a survey conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation, published yesterday, shows that “79% of respondents would prefer to try and meet demand through greater energy-efficiency and conservation before building more coal-fired plants. Only 19% say they disagree.” With that kind of public opposition, it’s not surprising that Wall Street is cooling on coal plants, too.

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