Warren Buffett Made 2 Bold Predictions Last Week That May Surprise You

Warren Buffett has been on the media circuit over the past few weeks, appearing on CNBC as well as speaking at Fortune’s “Most Powerful Women” summit.

Never one to shy away from speaking his mind, the Oracle of Omaha didn’t disappoint this week either. He let the world know his thoughts on some financial wizardry for the everyday American and then weighed in on the 2016 presidential election.

Financial wizardry for the average Joe
Looking for a way to short-change interest rates? If you are, look no farther than this method, one that Buffett calls a “no-brainer.” It’s really easy actually, even without a Bloomberg Terminal, primary brokerage, or seven figures in the bank.

Just take out a mortgage and buy a home. Or, if you already own your home, consider a refinance if you haven’t in the last few years.

If interest rates rise — which most experts think will occur sometime in the next 12 to 18 months — then taking out a fixed rate mortgage today is a great way to hedge against that likelihood. If rates do decline further, you can always refinance, and if rates rise, you can simply keep paying your monthly payments and enjoy that below market rate for the next 30 years.

In typical colloquial fashion, Buffett said of the 30 year fixed rate mortgage, “It’s a 30-minute instrument if you’ve been wrong on interest rates and it’s a 30-year instrument if you’ve been right on interest rates.”

As far as Buffett is concerned, this is a very convenient and powerful way for Main Street households to apply Wall Street hedging strategies for long term financial success.

Buffett the political pundit?
Buffett has had quite the career beating the stock market with his value oriented stock investments, so he certainly has some credibility as a prognosticator. But what about politics? 

Speaking at Fortune’s “Most Powerful Women Summit” last week, Buffett predicted that Hillary Clinton would win the White House in the 2016 presidential election. As of yet, Clinton has not formally announced her intention to run, though many in the political arena expect her to announce her candidacy in the coming months. 

He went as far as to quip that he was so positive that one could “bet money on it,” and that Clinton would announce her campaign “as late as possible.”

It’s too early to change his nickname to the “Oracle of Washington,” but nevertheless, it’s an interesting statement from the world’s greatest investor.

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