Buffett: US to avoid double-dip recession

Investment veteran Warren Buffett has said the chances of the US slipping back into recession are very low, despite fears over the fiscal cliff facing the country at the end of the year.

Buffett, the billionaire investor and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, ruled out a recession in the US unless "events in Europe develop in some way that spills over here big-time." Concerns have been growing over the health of the world's largest economy after US GDP growth was revised down from 2.2% to 1.9% in the first quarter, following a relatively strong start to the year. Fears are also mounting over the impact of the end of a series of Bush-era tax cuts. The economy is expected to shrink 1.3pc in the first half of 2013 if a mix of tax increases and spending cuts currently schedu...