Investor Warren Buffett comments on outlook for global economy

SHOTLIST 1. Wide pan of American billionaire investor Warren Buffett's car arriving at Tungaloy Corporation headquarters, driving past crowds lining the street 2. Mid of Buffett (second from right) cutting ribbon at inauguration of new factory 3. SOUNDBITE (English) Warren Buffett, US billionaire investor: "Both Europe and Italy are going to be around forever and 10 years from now, 20 years from now, they're going to be producing more goods, they're going to be living better on a per capita basis. But they presently are enmeshed in a problem that is displaying a very significant flaw in the original European monetary union's establishment - namely that you have 17 countries that are very significant countries in many cases, that have given up the ability to print their own currency." 4. Wide of news conference 5. SOUNDBITE (English) Warren Buffett, US billionaire investor: "They did not expect something like this to occur, obviously, 10 or 12 years ago. And they're struggling with it and if there were an easy answer, it would have been provided by now. So, I do not know exactly how this ends. I do know in the end that you can count on the fact that Europe will, the major European countries and businesses in Europe will not only survive but thrive over time. But it may be a very interesting year or two." 6. Cutaway of reporters working on laptops 7. SOUNDBITE (English) Warren Buffett, US billionaire investor: "You do not have.....You had this 'whatever it takes', 'doing whatever it takes-doctrine' in the United States three years ago, and so far there has not been a 'doing whatever it takes' doctrine in Europe and that's the reason why confidence has been falling at a very rapid rate and being transmitted throughout the European monetary union." 8. Wide of news conference 9. SOUNDBITE (English) Warren Buffett, US billionaire investor: "The Occupy Wall Street activity has not been that big, in a sense, relative to the kind of activity we saw in 60's with civil rights activity or Vietnam war activity. But the issue is very real in that the wealthy have prospered in the United States enormously in the last 20 years while most people have not really participated in that prosperity." 10. Mid of Buffett entering new factory STORYLINE US billionaire investor Warren Buffett inaugurated the opening of a new factory at one of his investments, Tungaloy Corporation, in Japan on Monday. The company is located in Iwaki, near the 20 kilometre (12.4 miles) exclusion zone of Fukushima. The 81-year old investor said that the earthquake and tsunami disaster which hit Japan on 11 March had not changed his view on investing in Japanese companies. After touring the new facility, Buffett gave his economic outlook on the eurozone and the global economy to reporters at a news conference. Buffett's first-ever visit to Japan comes as the nation's manufacturers face an increasingly tough business landscape with strong yen levels and an uncertain outlook in US and European economies. As to the state of Europe's debt problems, Buffett said the European monetary union had a fundamental flaw in that member countries could not print their own money. He also added that the lack of a 'whatever it takes' attitude among European officials - compared to their US counterparts - was also partly to blame for the rapid loss of investor confidence. "I do not know exactly how this ends," he told reporters. "I do know in the end that you can count on the fact that Europe will, the major European countries and businesses in Europe will not only survive but thrive over time," he added. The new two-storey plant is a mass-production facility for one of its key toolmaking product, TAC inserts. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/8468e8a69f10ce6fb2ffe9a01092c750 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork