OMAHA, Neb. — Billionaire Warren Buffett said today that the U.S. government is taking the correct actions to help the economy recover.

Buffett spoke briefly before the opening of the annual meeting for his Berkshire Hathaway Inc., expected to draw an audience of roughly 35,000 people.

"The government is doing the right things," Buffett said. "They're acting in a countercyclical manner."

But Buffett said he can't predict how quickly the economy and the markets will improve. He said last fall that the U.S. faced an "economic Pearl Harbor."

Buffett and his partner, Charlie Munger, were expected to spend more than five hours answering questions at the Berkshire meeting. In the exhibit hall this morning, Buffett was mobbed by shareholders seeking photos of the billionaire CEO as he walked among exhibits.

The meeting began as usual with a humorous movie, but instead of the traditional comical cartoon, Berkshire offered a reassuring message from animated versions of its products.

Berkshire's Class A stock lost 32 percent in 2008, and Berkshire's book value — assets minus liabilities — declined 9.6 percent, to $70,530 per share. That was the biggest drop in book value under Buffett and only the second time its book value has declined.

But despite Berkshire's rough year — which was depressed by unrealized multibillion-dollar derivative losses — the company still outpaced the market index Buffett uses as a measuring stick. The S&P 500 fell 37 percent in 2008.

Berkshire reported a 2008 profit of $4.99 billion, or $3,224 per Class A share. That was down 62 percent from the previous year, but better than many companies.