Briefly Noted: Dimon Unbound?
Did Jamie Dimon today say what he really thinks? And does this lend support to Tom Luongo’s theory of everything?
Dimon is head not only of the largest US bank but also of the single most important bank in the world. So, when he speaks, people listen—especially because he says he’s sitting on $1.2 trillion in cash. And boy did he speak. Among many other things he had to say, he gave a full vote of confidence to Jay Powell:
It got worse: besides predicting a hard-landing and a 30% crash, the CEO of the largest US bank also said his “gut” tells him that the Fed funds rate will probably have to rise higher than the 4% to 4.5% level many economists are predicting, as inflation persists.
Still, Dimon said he has “total faith and trust” in Fed Chair Jay Powell, and that stagflation is far worse than most of the other potential outcomes as the Fed works to cool price pressures.
With Dimon’s backing, one would expect Powell to be pretty secure in following out his policies.
But then …
In separate - and far more provoative -comments made earlier in the day during a JPMorgan investor seminar where he led a fireside chat moderated by JPMorgan's Gergana Thiel, Dimon made some extremely outspoken comments which however you won't hear on the mainstream media, telling a small group of listeners that was closed to the press that the "President of the Unites States needs to stand up and say we may not meet our 2050 climate objectives because this is a fucking war”.
He also said “time to stop going hat in hand to Venezuela and Saudi and start pumping more oil & gas in the USA”
We know that’s not happening as long as Dems are in control, so …
Echoing what he has said before, Jamie said this is the way the USA maintains its standing, as the future of the world is by pumping more oil and gas and using energy security to ensure Western unity.
Energy security? There is still the small problem of getting our oil and gas from here to there—at an affordable price. That’s where “unity” gets a severe test, when cheap Russian energy could be available to anyone willing to break ranks.
And he did say when it comes to ESG “investors don’t give a shit” warning not to "cede governance to do-gooder kids on a committee”.
Finally, he stressed the need for strong American leadership that is not being provided by either party. His conclusion: the world needs American diplomacy and neither Trump or Biden can lead the USA.
As far as we know he didn’t say who he’s backing.
And speaking about ESG and things nobody gives a sh*t about, this item about the biggest purveyor of ESG plays into another thing that Luongo has been saying, about Larry Fink and Blackrock:
BlackRock Assets Plunge Amid Global Stock And Bond Turmoil
BlackRock, the world's largest investment manager, reported assets under management (AUM) plunged 16% year-on-year to $7.96 trillion in the third quarter amid global equity and bond market turmoil sparked by central banks aggressively raising interest rates to quell elevated inflation. Reported AUM missed every average analyst estimate, while the Bloomberg consensus was around $8.27 trillion.
New York-based BlackRock reported a smaller-than-expected decline in quarterly profit as demand for exchange-traded funds and other low-risk financial products increased fee income. Most of its money is made from fees charged for investment advisory and administration services.
BlackRock products, known as long-term funds, only attracted $65 billion of net inflows, missing the $104 billion average estimate.
That crack about ESG is the same thing Dimon said to the House a week or two ago. Adding that it was bad for America, and not apologizing for anything he said.
Interesting times.
One way or another, there's more going on here than we see in public.
Well, "Tyler Durden" certainly doesn't like Dimon. I personally don't know what to make of him. I am very glad he appears to be on "our side" vis a vis Davos per Luongo. And I do believe Luongo is correct about him.
He is absolutely right about inflation being longer lasting and stickier than most are foreseeing, and about the need for additional oil and gas production as a tool for U.S. national standing and security. And I am sure he also knows that increased production and delivery of energy is a sine qua non to successfully reduce inflation and keep it from coming back - but is loathe to state that in order to protect the Fed's current spiel about demand destruction and economic contraction being "the answer." Does he not understand that Trump's whole foreign policy was based on economics and specifically the leverage that came from the U.S. being energy independent? And doesn't he remember that Trump's big thing was to get us out of and keep us out of wars? So what does Dimon have against Trump?
It's a little late for him to think energy is going to be a means to "western unity." Not after the pipelines were blown up and after the U.S. has already essentially told Europe it is on its own this Winter. The other thing he says that seems crazy is that he sees and likes "the western world getting together to promote human rights." Where has he been the last couple or three years? What human rights have they not already abrogated that he thinks they will promote? Anyway, the guy IS extremely powerful and appears to be one of the few elites who are against Davos and for U.S. nationalism, so we all should be thankful to him for that.