JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said that people are over-reacting to short-term numbers “and they should stop doing that.”
“I’m afraid inflation might not go away that quickly,” Dimon said Tuesday in an interview on El Financiero Bloomberg TV. The Federal Reserve is right to pause hikes for now but “they might have to do a little bit more.”
The comments come after an unexpected cooling in consumer-price increases, prompting the S&P 500’s best day since April on hopes that the latest figure means the Fed’s fight against inflation is working. Dimon’s remarks echoed those by Citadel founder Ken Griffin earlier Tuesday that “the Fed needs to have the message that they will put the inflation genie back in the bottle.”
Dimon has been saying for over a year that despite being in good shape now, US consumers and businesses are facing major headwinds including quantitative tightening and geopolitical tensions. He said in September that JPMorgan is telling clients to be prepared for 7% interest rates, and that the Fed may have to further hike its benchmark rate to combat inflation.
Speaking from Mexico City, the longtime CEO said he sees a “huge opportunity” in Mexico, citing capital markets, manufacturing and agriculture in particular. JPMorgan “doubled or tripled” its capital in the country over the last six years, he said, adding that the firm has 6000 employees there.
