Buffett Sees Subprime Woes Lingering

DAEGU, South Korea — American billionaire investor Warren Buffett said Thursday that problems in the U.S. subprime mortgage market will likely weigh on consumers for up to two years, but that the U.S. economy will weather the storm.

The subprime problem "is having an impact," Buffett said on his first visit to South Korea. "It will have more of an impact."

Rising default rates among U.S. mortgage holders with poor credit histories have rattled global credit, stock and currency markets since August and raised concerns about a possible recession in the U.S. economy, a major export market for Asian companies.