Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio) spoke with Becky Quick on CNBC's Squawk Box Monday morning two days after Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK.A, Financial) (BRK.B, Financial) annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, touching on topics such as first quarter GDP growth and his sell philosophy.
Though the U.S. GDP grew just 0.5% during the first quarter, which Quick called a "stunningly bad" figure, Buffett said that overall, the U.S. has recovered well since the crisis.
"The GDP figures are inherently a little more suspect in terms of being precise than year over year figures," he said. "But that doesn't negate the fact that business is slow."
Buffett also said he pays little attention to currency movements and has almost given up on figuring out how they affect Berkshire's business. Indeed, Quick points out that Berkshire doesn't have any big bets on currency and hasn't for about 10 years.
"We do so much business around the world that I don't really know if it's good or bad for us in currency moves," he said.
The Berkshire chairman spoke briefly about the company's economic principles, saying he would not sell controlled businesses unless due to major labor problems or if the business began to eat up cash. In terms of companies in which Berkshire holds a large stake, Buffett said it wouldn't pain him to sell a position, because that would ultimately mean Berkshire had found a better opportunity elsewhere to invest.
One of Berkshire's large holdings is American Express (AXP, Financial), which accounts for 8% of the portfolio. The stock declined about 16% over the past year, in part due to the company ending its partnership with Costco (COST, Financial). While Buffett said he was not involved with the talks, he was aware of the math behind the decision and supported CEO Ken Chenault's decision to walk away from the deal.
Buffett's stake in American Express has increased from 15% to 16% without paying an additional dime due to stock buybacks. Amid a current environment in which companies buy back stock with little regard to the current price, Buffett said American Express is smartly buying shares for less than its worth, which is the important key, he said.
