Warren Buffett: We’re Seeing “Very Substantial Inflation”

It is not just me then.

I’ve noticed the increase in prices and it is not just gasoline. I spent over $20 at McDonald’s on the road last week on two combos and a Happy Meal for my son.

CNBC:

“Warren Buffett is seeing inflation among Berkshire Hathaway’s collection of businesses as the economic recovery from the Covid pandemic kicks into high gear.

“We are seeing very substantial inflation,” the Berkshire chairman and CEO said at the conglomerate’s annual shareholder meeting Saturday. “It’s very interesting. We are raising prices. People are raising prices to us and it’s being accepted.”

“We’ve got nine homebuilders in addition to our manufacture housing and operation, which is the largest in the country. So we really do a lot of housing. The costs are just up, up, up. Steel costs, you know, just every day they’re going up,” the legendary investor added. …”

Bloomberg:

“Markets have been obsessed — and sometimes roiled — for months over whether higher inflation is coming. The latest batch of quarterly reports suggests it’s already here and helping corporate America.

Faced with rising prices for everything from lumber to oil to labor and computer chips, chief executive officers have cut costs and boosted prices for their products. The strategy appears to be working, with first-quarter income from S&P 500 companies jumping five times as fast as sales, data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence show. …”

CNBC:

“Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin told CNBC on Monday that he sees inflation pressures building this year that he expects to subside in 2022.

“I think we will see price pressure this year. You’ve got a very strong demand situation, and you’ve got constraints in supply,” the central bank official said during a “Closing Bell” interview. “When those things happen, you’re definitely going to see price pressure.”

However, Barkin added that he expects those pressures to subside as economic dynamics change through the year and the economy returns to a more normal state. …”

Market Watch:

“Shortages and soaring prices forced American producers to scale back production in April despite a high level of demand. As a result, inflation has rebounded from near zero last year to a more than 2% yearly pace as of April. …”

To be crystal clear, I have no problem with stimulus checks which were a small portion of the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan, but I am concerned that the Fed is just printing all of this money. We’re talking about trillions of dollars that has already been spent and that doesn’t even include Joe Biden’s American Jobs Plan or the American Families Plan. There doesn’t appear to be the same appetite among the Democrats for actually taxing the wealthy and corporations as their readiness to spend.