Buffett: U.S. housing has turned corner : Report

By Erik Holm

--Buffett tells CNBC he sees slowing in global economy
--Buffett says U.S. is doing better than Europe, Asia
--Buffett says housing in U.S. has turned a corner
Warren Buffett said results at the companies in his Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA, BRKB) conglomerate indicate "there is some slowing down going on" in the global economy, but the U.S. economy is doing better than Europe and Asia
Mr. Buffett, speaking on CNBC Wednesday morning, said home construction is picking up in the U.S., which will cause profit at Berkshire businesses tied to the housing market to improve Berkshire's carpet business, Shaw, will double its profit this year, and manufactured-housing unit Clayton Homes will build 15% more units, he said.
As a result, Berkshire is likely to employ an additional 8,000 people at year-end on top of the roughly 270,000 it employed at the start of the year, he said
In contrast, Berkshire's Iscar metalworking unit had seen a fall-off in orders from Asia, Mr. Buffett said
And Europe still has problems to work through, he said
"It could be pretty rough there for awhile," he said of Europe
 Of the countries in the euro-zone, he said, "they've got to come closer together or it won't be sustainable."
He also warned there was "a pretty fair chance" the U.S. Congress and the Obama administration could fail to reach a budget deal before steep budget cuts are scheduled to automatically kick in
The government could go over the so-called fiscal cliff "for a short time," he said
As one of the most successful investors in history, Mr. Buffett's views on the economy and investing are followed closely by a large segment of the investing community
He told CNBC that stock declines like those that rocked markets Tuesday make him want to buy more stocks and warned investors against selling on short-term concerns
"To buy or sell on current news is just crazy," he said
He added that he was also "salivating" at the prospect of acquiring another large company outright
He revealed he had been approached Tuesday night about a $6 billion company that he had already been familiar with, and planned to make more inquiries about it in coming days
Berkshire had purchased additional shares of Wells Fargo &Co in the past week, he said. Berkshire is already the largest shareholder in the company, and owned about 8% as of June 30
He cautioned that the returns of U.S. banks won't rebound to pre-crisis levels since they won't be allowed to use as much leverage as they did in the past
But banking is "still a good business" in the U.S., he said
Berkshire also holds a stake in Procter & Gamble Co., though it has sold some of its holdings in recent quarters
Mr. Buffett told CNBC he'd sold some of the shares on "valuation," saying he had put the money into a newer holding, International Business Machines Corp. , and handed some of it off to Berkshire's other investment managers, who are taking on a larger role at the company
P&G Chief Executive Bob McDonald has recently faced criticism internally and from investors over how he's run the company
Mr. Buffett said recent earnings at P&G have "disappointed" but that Mr. McDonald was "a terrific human being."
Mr. Buffett also gave another of his frequent endorsements to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, saying he "has done an absolutely superb job" and predicted Mr. Bernanke would likely stay on in the role if asked to take another term
Still, Mr. Buffett said his own "instinct" was that the Fed's program of quantitative easing was no longer the right strategy
"I get a little worried about continuously expanding" the Fed's balance sheet, he said on CNBC.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has said he would replace Mr. Bernanke
On the election, Mr. Buffett said the U.S. economy would improve under either Barack Obama or Mr. Romney
But Mr. Buffett, a longtime Democrat, said he supports Mr. Obama and saw an important difference on the two candidates on social issues