J.P.Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon sounded pretty optimistic about the economy in an interview with CNBC’s Leslie Picker on a soccer field in Kansas City, while on his annual bus tour through the American midwest.
“America is alive and well,” Dimon said. The CEO is visiting six cities following J.P.Morgan’s recent multi-billion dollar investment to open more branches in the region. And what he’s seeing pleases him. “There’s entrepreneurs everywhere; people are optimistic,” he said.
Apparently Warren Buffett feels the same way.
“I was with Warren Buffett yesterday, and we always talk about the resiliency of America,” Dimon said. “It is extraordinary, and it’s in these towns, it’s in the universities, it’s in the businesses, it’s in the governments. They’re always looking for ways to improve our life.”
When it came to discussing the global stock market chaos on Monday, Dimon didn’t seem too disturbed. “Markets fluctuate. I think people overreact a little bit to the daily fluctuation of the market. And sometimes it’s for good reason, sometimes it’s virtually no reason,” he said. “And you saw this one, it came way down and went way back up.”
Global stocks fell sharply on Monday, digging up long-buried fears about a potential U.S. recession. Despite a quick correction, an economic downturn is not entirely out of the picture.
Dimon maintains his view that there’s a 35% to 40% chance that the U.S. will see a soft landing for the economy. “We don’t know if it’ll be a soft landing or hard landing, or all the things in between,” he said. “You know, I’ve always been a little skeptical that it’ll be soft. On the other hand, I’m hoping it’s soft.”
The Federal Reserve is expected to make sizable interest rate cuts in the near future.
Rocio Fabbro contributed reporting.
