Warren Buffett advises Apple boss Cook over David Einhorn

Warren Buffett has advised Apple boss Tim Cook to "ignore" David Einhorn, the hedge-fund manager who has been pressing for the technology firm to return some of its giant $137bn cash pile to shareholders.

Mr Einhorn, whose Greenlight Capital fund is an Apple shareholder, recently dropped a legal challenge against the tech company – but he remains in favour of higher cash returns.

Speaking to CNBC, Mr Buffett waded into the debate yesterday, saying he "would ignore" the hedge-fund manager. "I would run the business in such a manner as to create the most value over the next five to 10 years. You can't run a business to push the stock price up on a daily basis," he said.

"I think Apple's done a good job of building value. They may have too much cash."