Market volatility continued it’s re-assault on Wall Street today as stocks ended their worst week since February. The CBOE Volatility Index, generally regarded as the best indication of fear & volatility in the markets, shot up more than 10% to its highest level since March 15th.-a near 7 week high.
Meanwhile, billionaire investor and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett said today that he cannot, at this time comfort anyone who worries about very slow growth in the U.S. economy. Buffett spoke ahead of tomorrow’s annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting and was interviewed by CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
He said the following about the current state of the U.S. economy:
“It’s certainly not accelerating … [but] it’s not declining. The economy is not booming, [but] on the other hand, it’s not falling apart in any way shape or form, either.”
Buffet’s comments come a day after the government’s initial look at first-quarter G.D.P. showed a weaker-than-expected annual increase of just 0.5 percent.
According to today’s NY Times:
“U.S. corporate profits, weighed down by the energy slump and slowing global growth, are set to decline for the third straight quarter in the longest slide in earnings since the financial crisis.”
See CNBC’s “Squawk Box’ entire interview with Warren Buffett below.
Here are the final numbers from Friday, 4/29/16 on Wall Street:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 17,773.64 (-57.12 / -0.32 %)
NASDAQ: 4,775.36 (-29.93 / -0.62 %)
S&P 500: 2,065.30 (-10.51/ -0.51%)
