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JPMorgan CEO Dimon sums up U.S. financial system in a single paragraph — and it sounds unhealthy

Jamie Dimon, leader government officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Christophe Morin | Bloomberg | Getty Photographs

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Thursday summarized the state of the U.S. financial system in a single paragraph, and it is not all just right.

At the one hand, Dimon stated the U.S. “financial system continues to develop and each the task marketplace and shopper spending, and their talent to spend, stay wholesome.”

He then rattled off quite a lot of caution indicators, announcing: “However geopolitical rigidity, top inflation, waning shopper self belief, the uncertainty about how top charges have to move and the never-before-seen quantitative tightening and their results on world liquidity, mixed with the struggle in Ukraine and its destructive impact on world power and meals costs are very prone to have detrimental penalties at the world financial system someday down the street.”

Dimon’s feedback, which have been made in JPMorgan Chase’s newest quarterly unencumber, come as buyers and economists attempt to make out whether or not the financial system is headed for a recession — and the new spate of monetary knowledge is not offering a lot readability.

The nice

For the instant, there don’t seem to be any indicators the U.S. financial system is getting into a recession, in keeping with feedback JPMorgan executives made on their profits name.

As Dimon stated, the hard work marketplace appears to be in forged footing. Remaining month, the U.S. financial system added 372,000 jobs, topping a Dow Jones estimate of 250,000. In the meantime, moderate hourly wages grew ultimate month at 5.1% year-over-year tempo.

Shopper spending additionally appears to be chugging alongside, albeit at a subdued tempo. Spending in Might rose 0.2%, beneath a Reuters estimate for a nil.4% achieve.

Even inside JPMorgan’s personal trade there have been indicators of shopper power. Shoppers are nonetheless spending on discretionary spaces like trip and eating. At its shopper and group banking department, mixed debit and bank card spending used to be up 15% in the second one quarter. Card loans had been up 16% with endured robust new account originations.

On the other hand, the excellent news might finish there.

The unhealthy

The shopper value index — a extensively adopted measure of inflation — rose ultimate month by way of 9.1% from the year-earlier length. That crowned a Dow Jones forecast of 8.8% and marketplace the quickest tempo for inflation going again to 1981.

A large motive force for that building up is a surge in power costs. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. oil benchmark, is up greater than 28% in in 2022, because the struggle between Ukraine and Russia raises fear over already tight provide out there.

Upper costs have additionally dented U.S. shopper sentiment. The College of Michigan’s shopper sentiment index hit a report low ultimate month, tumbling to 50.

Those inflationary pressures have driven the Federal Reserve to tighten financial coverage this yr extra temporarily than buyers expected. Remaining month, the central financial institution hiked charges by way of 0.75 proportion level, and a few economists on Wall Side road be expecting the Fed to hike by way of up to a complete level later in July.

Inflation has additionally had large political ramifications within the U.S.

In line with a ballot carried out by way of the Pew Analysis Heart, President Joe Biden’s approval score has slumped to 37% — with a majority of American citizens announcing his insurance policies have made the financial system worse. Pew additionally discovered that simply 13% of American citizens fee U.S. financial prerequisites as “superb/just right.”

Dimon’s remarks practice feedback he made ultimate month during which he warned buyers to brace themselves for an financial “typhoon.”

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