Munger Says He's Concerned About `New Territory' of Rising Debt

(Bloomberg) -- Charles Munger, the billionaire vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., says he’s uneasy about the rising level of U.S. government debt.

“This is new territory for us and new territory has some danger in it,” Munger, 94, said Wednesday in Los Angeles at the annual meeting for Daily Journal Corp., where he’s chairman. “On the other hand, it’s possible that the world will function pretty well.”

Munger is best known as Warren Buffett’s longtime partner at Berkshire. Inflation fears have hit financial markets this month and a Labor Department report Wednesday showed U.S. inflation was picking up faster than expected. The core consumer price index in the U.S. climbed 0.3 percent in January from a month earlier, exceeding the 0.2 percent median estimate of economists.

To contact the reporters on this story: Noah Buhayar in Seattle at nbuhayar@bloomberg.net, Katherine Chiglinsky in New York at kchiglinsky@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Margaret Collins at mcollins45@bloomberg.net, Peter Eichenbaum

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