IN BRIEF

BERLIN

Buffett says U.S. already in recession

Warren Buffett, whose business and investment acumen has made him one of the world's wealthiest men, was quoted in an interview published Sunday as saying the U.S. economy is already in a recession.

Asked by Germany's Der Spiegel weekly whether he thinks the United States could still avoid a recession, he said that as far as the average person is concerned, it is already here.

"I believe that we are already in a recession," Buffet was quoted as saying. "Perhaps not in the sense as defined by economists. ... But people are already feeling the effects of a recession."

"It will be deeper and longer than what many think," he added.

The 77-year-old chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. gave the interview while he was in Europe for what he called a "deferred shopping tour," looking for possible acquisitions.

LONDON

British union to merge with Steelworkers

Britain's largest union is merging with United Steelworkers, creating the first trans-Atlantic labor organization, the two labor groups said Sunday.

UNITE, which represents more than 2 million workers in Britain's transportation, energy and public sectors, among others, is set to join United Steelworkers, which has some 850,000 members in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean.

UNITE spokesman Andrew Murray said "the finishing touches" were worked out at a meeting between UNITE and Steelworkers representatives last week.

Murray said an official announcement would be made at the Steelworkers' Constitutional Convention in Las Vegas, beginning in June.