No 'green shoots' visible in US economy: Buffett

Asserting that the American economy does not have the "bounce", legendary investor Warren Buffett has said that he is not seeing any green shoots.

The iconic investor, who is also the Chief Executive of insurance and investment group Berkshire Hathaway, in an interview to CNBC television said the economy would take more time to recover.

"Everything that I see about the economy is that we have had no bounce... In terms of the economy coming back, it takes a while. There were a lot of excesses to be wrung out and that process is still underway and it looks to me like it will be underway for quite a while," Buffett said.

When asked whether he is seeing any green shoots in the economy, Buffett said, he was not seeing anything.

"I was not seeing anything. I had a cataract operation on my left eye about a month ago and I thought maybe now I will be able to see green shoots. We are not seeing them," he replied.

Recalling his earlier assertion in Berkshire Hathaway's annual report that the economy would be in a shambles this year and probably well beyond, Buffett noted, "I am afraid that's true."