Warren Buffett tells Fox Business that he expects American job losses will continue to mount well into next year, and that unemployment will be well above the 6-6.5% range by mid-2009. “It’ll be considerably higher. … I wish it weren’t the case, but there is no way to change a negative feedback cycle like we’re in now in a month or two months.” Echoing the long-term optimism he showed in his much discussed Oct. 17 New York Times Op-Ed piece, however, Buffett says that “it will happen eventually and we will go on to new heights,” adding, “I’m not worried about five years from now.”

Buffett also offers some interesting takes on critics who have been pointing to Berkshire’s big drop this year, as well as those who say he acted too soon in the firm’s big Goldman Sachs investment.