US billionaire Buffett ready for more takeovers

NEW YORK, Feb 27 (AFP): US billionaire chief executive Warren Buffett said Saturday he is "itchy" for more takeovers less than one year after his $26.5-billion purchase of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway company. In his annual letter to his Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, Buffett wrote that in 2011 "we will need both good performance from our current businesses and more major acquisition. "We're prepared," said Buffett, 80, the third richest man in the world. "Our elephant gun has been reloaded, and my trigger finger is itchy." Buffett said that his company is "envisioning a year free of mega catastrophe in insurance and possessing a general business climate somewhat better than that of 2010, but weaker than that of 2005 or 2006." Berkshire Hathaway reported that 2010 net income was up 61 per cent compared to the previous year to 12.97 billion dollars, and its per-share book value increased by 13 per cent. Buffett, widely seen as one of the most savvy investors in the United States, was bullish on the future of the US economy. "Money will always flow toward opportunity, and there is an abundance of that in America," he wrote. He said that much of his 2010 success was due to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway acquisition, which he said has been "working out even better than I expected." Owning the railroad, he wrote, "will increase Berkshire's 'normal' earning power by nearly 40 per cent pre-tax and by well over 30 per cent after-tax."