JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said Wednesday he still believes the chances of a “soft landing” for the U.S. economy are about 35 to 40 percent, making a recession the most likely scenario in his view.
When CNBC's Leslie Picker asked Dimon if he had changed his view since February that markets were too optimistic about recession risks, he said the odds were “about the same” as his previous assessment.
“There's a lot of uncertainty,” Dimon said. “I've always pointed to geopolitics, the housing market, the budget deficits, spending, quantitative tightening, the elections. All of these things are causing some anxiety in the markets.”
Dimon, head of the largest U.S. bank by assets and one of the most respected voices on Wall Street, has warned of an economic “hurricane” starting in 2022. But the economy has held up better than expected, and Dimon said on Wednesday that America is not currently in a recession, even if the number of credit card defaults is increasing.
Dimon added that he was “a little skeptical” that the Federal Reserve could bring inflation down to the 2 percent target due to future spending on the green economy and the military.
“There's always a wide range of possible outcomes,” Dimon said. “I'm absolutely optimistic that we could handle either a mild recession or a more severe recession. Of course, I have a lot of sympathy for the people who are losing their jobs. You don't want a hard landing.”
Comments are closed.