OTHER POLICIES MADE BY PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP HAVE CAUSED SOME UNCERTAINTY AND FEAR FOR THE STOCK MARKET. SO HERE TO TALK ABOUT IT IS ALEX LANGAN, THE CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER AT LANGAN FINANCIAL GROUP. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US. REALLY APPRECIATE IT ALEX. ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU. YEAH. SO IT’S BEEN SHAKY ON WALL STREET. WE’RE SEEING A MIXED BAG TODAY. BUT WE’VE SEEN SOME OF THE WORST WEEKLY LOSSES SINCE SEPTEMBER. WHAT HAVE YOUR THOUGHTS BEEN ON THE STATE OF THE STOCK MARKET? IT’S DEFINITELY BEEN TOUGH WATCHING US FROM THE SIDELINES. PEOPLE ARE REALLY, REALLY NERVOUS AND APPREHENSIVE. SO I WOULD SAY MOST PEOPLE STICK TO YOUR GAME PLAN. IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR RETIREMENT, MAYBE, MAYBE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF MONEY ON THE SIDELINES. AND WITH THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX REPORT THAT’S OUT, WHAT CHANGES CAN WE SEE THERE? I UNDERSTAND THAT THE CPI REPORT COULD SIGNAL THAT PEOPLE ARE SPENDING LESS. SO HOW CAN THAT AFFECT THE MARKET BOTH IN THE SHORT TERM AND IN THE LONG TERM? YOU’RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. SO CONSUMERS ARE SLOWING DOWN ON THEIR SPENDING. BUSINESSES DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THE TARIFFS. SO MONEY IS NOT FLOWING THROUGH THE ECONOMY AS MUCH AS PEOPLE WOULD LIKE. AND THAT IS SIGNALING SLOWING IN OVERALL ECONOMIC OUTPUT. ARE YOU WORRIED AT ALL WITH WHAT YOU’RE SEEING SO FAR? NO, A LITTLE APPREHENSIVE. WE JUST NEED CERTAINTY. THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED. WE NEED A GAME PLAN FOR WHAT THE TARIFFS ARE GOING TO BE, HOW LONG THEY’RE GOING TO BE IN PLACE, AND HOW WE CAN NAVIGATE AROUND IT. BUSINESSES CANNOT PLAN RIGHT NOW, AND THAT’S WHAT’S REALLY FRUSTRATING THE ECONOMY. YEAH. SPEAKING OF WHICH, WHERE DO THINGS NOW STAND WITH THE LARGEST AMERICAN COMPANIES? WE’VE GOT NVIDIA, APPLE, MICROSOFT, TESLA. WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN WATCHING THERE? THEY HAVE ABSOLUTELY GOTTEN BEAT UP TODAY. THEY’RE COMING BACK A LITTLE BIT. BUT THEIR VALUATIONS WHEN YOU LOOK AT THEM WERE SO ELEVATED THEY WERE OVER ONE STANDARD DEVIATION ABOVE WHAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED APPROPRIATE. SO THIS IS ACTUALLY BETTER TO TAKE TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND REGROUP FROM WHERE WE WERE AT. THE LOSSES SHOULD HELP. OVERALL MOVING FORWARD. AND YOU BROUGHT THIS UP EARLIER. I MEAN, WE’RE HEARING INVESTORS ARE TAKING MONEY OUT OF THE MARKET. WHAT APPROACH AND STRATEGIES WOULD YOU RECOMMEND FOR BALANCING RISK AND REWARD? IF YOU’RE YOUNGER, NOW’S A GOOD TIME TO MAYBE STAY AGGRESSIVE OR CONTINUE WITH YOUR GAME PLAN. GET A LITTLE BIT MORE AGGRESSIVE IF YOU’RE A LITTLE BIT OLDER. LOOKING TO START THE INCOME DISTRIBUTION, YOU MAY WANT TO LOOK FOR SOME DIVIDENDS OR SOME BONDS THAT ARE STILL RELATIVELY ATTRACTIVE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THOSE, AND THE S&P 500 INDEX, THOSE FUNDS ARE COMMONLY OFFERED WITHIN PEOPLE’S 401 K PLANS. IS THERE SOMETHING PEOPLE COULD DO TO PROTECT THEIR MONEY? YOU CAN ALWAYS SWITCH TO ACTIVE MANAGERS. YOU’RE GOING TO PAY MORE FOR IT. SO BE CAREFUL WITH WHAT ACTIVE MANAGERS YOU’RE GOING TO USE. BUT THE S&P 500 HAS DEFINITELY BEEN OVERVALUED. THAT AS THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN AS THEY ONCE WERE CALLED AT LEAST SEVERAL MONTHS AGO. THEY THEY HAVE GOTTEN BEAT UP. SO THERE WAS TOO MUCH MARKET CAP IN THOSE CERTAIN STOCKS. SO YOU’RE STILL GOING TO BE IN THE SAME BAG WITH THE INDEX FUNDS. SO I’D RECOMMEND EITHER DIVERSIFYING OVERSEAS OR LOOKING FOR SOME ACTIVE MANAGERS. AND YOU KNOW SPEAKING OF OVERSEAS, HOW DO YOU THINK THESE TARIFFS ARE GOING TO AFFECT CHINA AND EUROPE. BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND I MEAN EUROPE, THEY COULD JUST LOWER THEIR INTEREST RATES. DO YOU SEE THEM BOUNCING BACK. IS THIS GOING TO HURT THE US MORE SO THAN OTHER COUNTRIES. THE REALITY IS IS THE US PURCHASES A LOT MORE THINGS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES. SO IT’S GOING TO HURT OTHER COUNTRIES MORE SHORT TERM. IT WILL HURT US WITH THE SHOCKS TO SUPPLY AND BUSINESSES. AS I MENTIONED, NOT BEING ABLE TO PLAN, BUT IT’S GOING TO HURT EVERYONE ECONOMICALLY. HOPEFULLY WE CAN FIGURE THINGS OUT, GET A GOOD GAME PLAN TOGETHER, COME TOGETHER AS A WORLD, AND AND BE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD. ALL RIGHT. AWESOME ALEX, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US FOR YOUR INSIGHT
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JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon changes tune on tariffs: ‘Uncertainty is not a good thing’
Two months ago, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon defended President Donald Trump’s tariff policy with a curt message: “Get over it.” But with stock markets lower and cracks appearing to form in the U.S. economy, Dimon himself might not be over it.“I don’t think the average American consumer who wakes up in the morning and goes to work… changes what they’re going to do because they read about tariffs,” Dimon said in an interview with Semafor on Wednesday.“But I do think companies might,” he added. “Uncertainty is not a good thing.”Dimon’s tempered tone on tariffs comes after the CEO of America’s largest bank said to “get over it,” when discussing tariffs at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He said they could be “an economic tool” or “an economic weapon,” depending how they’re used.“I would put in perspective: If it’s a little inflationary, but it’s good for national security, so be it,” Dimon said in an interview with CNBC at the time.Since then, Trump’s on-and-off tariff policy has caused volatility in the stock market. Although broader markets rebounded on Wednesday, the S&P 500 was still down more than 7% over one month.On Wednesday, Trump imposed sweeping 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imported into the United States — the latest round of tariffs in a global trade war — with Canada and the European Union swiftly retaliating. He has said his goal is to revitalize American manufacturing, slow illegal immigration and end fentanyl smuggling, but economists have warned that broad-based tariffs threaten to drive up prices on everything from food to new homes.Dimon wasn’t the only CEO sounding off on Wednesday about the risks of a trade war. Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, said he believed the economy was weakening due to tariffs.“The collective impact in the short run is that people are pausing, they’re pulling back,” Fink told CNN’s Kayla Tausche in an exclusive interview. “Talking to CEOs throughout the economy, I hear that the economy is weakening as we speak.”Still, Fink said the Trump administration’s policies, including tariffs, could be beneficial to the United States in the long run.“Right now the president is focusing on tariffs, but when he talks about reciprocal tariffs, actually, that may bring down tariffs over the long run,” Fink said, adding that he remains bullish on America in the long term.
Two months ago, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon defended President Donald Trump’s tariff policy with a curt message: “Get over it.” But with stock markets lower and cracks appearing to form in the U.S. economy, Dimon himself might not be over it.
“I don’t think the average American consumer who wakes up in the morning and goes to work… changes what they’re going to do because they read about tariffs,” Dimon said in an interview with Semafor on Wednesday.
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“But I do think companies might,” he added. “Uncertainty is not a good thing.”
Dimon’s tempered tone on tariffs comes after the CEO of America’s largest bank said to “get over it,” when discussing tariffs at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He said they could be “an economic tool” or “an economic weapon,” depending how they’re used.
“I would put in perspective: If it’s a little inflationary, but it’s good for national security, so be it,” Dimon said in an interview with CNBC at the time.
Since then, Trump’s on-and-off tariff policy has caused volatility in the stock market. Although broader markets rebounded on Wednesday, the S&P 500 was still down more than 7% over one month.
On Wednesday, Trump imposed sweeping 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imported into the United States — the latest round of tariffs in a global trade war — with Canada and the European Union swiftly retaliating. He has said his goal is to revitalize American manufacturing, slow illegal immigration and end fentanyl smuggling, but economists have warned that broad-based tariffs threaten to drive up prices on everything from food to new homes.
Dimon wasn’t the only CEO sounding off on Wednesday about the risks of a trade war. Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, said he believed the economy was weakening due to tariffs.
“The collective impact in the short run is that people are pausing, they’re pulling back,” Fink told CNN’s Kayla Tausche in an exclusive interview. “Talking to CEOs throughout the economy, I hear that the economy is weakening as we speak.”
Still, Fink said the Trump administration’s policies, including tariffs, could be beneficial to the United States in the long run.
“Right now the president is focusing on tariffs, but when he talks about reciprocal tariffs, actually, that may bring down tariffs over the long run,” Fink said, adding that he remains bullish on America in the long term.