Dimon Says the US Economy Is Facing Some ‘Scary Stuff’ Ahead

The US economy has obstacles to overcome, though there’s still a chance for a so-called soft landing, Jamie Dimon said.

(Bloomberg) — The US economy has obstacles to overcome, though there’s still a chance for a so-called soft landing, Jamie Dimon said.

“The US economy right now is doing quite well — consumers have a lot of money, they’re spending it, jobs are plentiful,” the JPMorgan Chase & Co. chief executive officer said on CNBC Thursday. “Out in front of us there’s some scary stuff.”

Dimon said the level of uncertainty about where the economy is headed is worse than usual, citing a list of obstacles that included the Federal Reserve’s quantitative tightening as well as “Russia, Ukraine, oil, gas, war, migration, trade, China.” 

The longtime CEO echoed comments he’s made in recent months on the Fed’s ongoing effort to fight inflation. He predicted that policymakers will have to pause rate hikes, but they might ultimately have to resume them to rein in inflation.

Dimon said last month that there’s a 50% chance that the Fed will boost its benchmark rate to about 5%, and a 50% chance it will have to go to 6%. 

Read more: Jamie Dimon Says Fed May Need to Hike Interest Rates Beyond 5%

(Updates with additional comments starting in third paragraph.)

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