Apparently not, now that everybody knows Warren Buffett’s on the prowl for investments anywhere but in the U.S. A peek at how the Oracle of Omaha’s news conference in Frankfurt yesterday ended up looking a lot more like a rock concert – replete with reporters, photographers and television news crews.

Warren E. Buffett may be one of the few Americans who can still afford to come to Europe for a shopping spree.

Warren E. Buffett, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, spoke Monday at a news conference in Frankfurt, where he met with the owners of German companies at a reception.

Undaunted by the sharp decline of the dollar against the euro, Mr. Buffett, the billionaire investor, arrived here on Monday to begin a four-country tour of Europe, with a view toward buying family-owned companies.

“I would rather be doing this with the euro at 90 cents than at $1.50,” he said at a crowded news conference at an airport hotel. But, he added, “if we can buy good businesses with good people at a good price, I’m not going to pass it up because I think a currency is too high.”

Mr. Buffett said he was making the rounds in a public fashion because he and his holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, are less well known in Europe than in the United States, where his homespun letter to shareholders is treated like sacred writ by many investors.

“It’s a deferred shopping tour,” Mr. Buffett said, noting that he did not expect to sign any deals immediately.

To judge by his reception in Frankfurt, the man often called the Oracle of Omaha will find an eager audience in Europe. His news conference here seemed more suited to a rock star than a businessman, with a large room full of reporters, a phalanx of photographers and television news crews.

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