(CNN) -- Billionaire hedge fund manager T. Boone Pickens spoke about the beleaguered U.S. economy, a prospective bailout and natural gas Thursday, a day after reports that his energy-related hedge funds lost $1 billion this year. Billionaire T. Boone Pickens has reportedly lost about $270 million this year. Speaking to CNN's John Roberts, Pickens said he concurred with President Bush's Wednesday assessment that a "distressing scenario would unfold" in the U.S. economy without immediate intervention. The U.S. economy needs a quick solution, and the U.S. Treasury -- while capable in its own right -- could use help from someone like Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway Inc. reportedly invested $5 billion this week in Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street investment bank.
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T. Boone Pickens on losing a reported $270 million: "I turned the wrong direction"
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Pickens: Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's bailout plan will work, but do it fast
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Natural gas better than oil -- it's "cheaper, cleaner, abundant and ours," he says
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Pickens says he has only a "very small" stake in natural gas production
Pickens: Well, actually, @placeholder, I don't have any natural gas production to speak of.