Here is why JPMorgan CEO is worried about looming Inflation

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon has said that the unprecedented risks the US economy is experiencing have pushed him to prepare for dramatic upheavals.

Increasing wages and booming spending are catalysts for a downturn

Dimon gave a largely upbeat perspective regarding the economy’s health on Monday in his annual stockholder letter. According to WSJ, Dimon said that businesses and consumers are flush with money, wages arere-growing, and the economy is expanding quickly following the pandemic-induced slowdown. Dimon stated that although consumer confidence has waned, the most crucial gauge is burgeoning spending.

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On the other hand, Dimon cautioned that the Ukraine conflict and growing prices might stifle the pandemic’s rebound and reshape international alliances for years. Dimon wrote:

They present completely different circumstances than what we’ve experienced in the past—and their confluence may dramatically increase the risks ahead. While it is possible, and hopeful, that all of these events will have peaceful resolutions, we should prepare for the potential negative outcomes.

The WSJ reported that a lot has changed since his previous letter to shareholders. As the globe recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic in April, he witnessed an opportunity for an economic “Goldilocks moment”— quick, continued growth with low Inflation and rising interest rates. However, expansion was accompanied by higher-than-expected Inflation.

In then Monday letter Domon said: “In hindsight, the medicine…was probably too much and lasted too long,” alluding to pandemic period fiscal stimulus measures which held households afloat and lending rates low.

Federal Reserve expected to increase interest rates

According to Dimon, the Federal Reserve could increase interest rates “significantly higher than the markets expect.” So far, the FED has started increasing interest rates and signaled on more increases in months to come that include a possible half percentage point rather than the normal quarter-point in its upcoming meeting.

Dimon added that the interest rate increase is likely to cause massive consternation and huge market volatility. The Ukrainian conflict and western sanctions to end Russia’s invasion “at minimum” are likely to slow economic growth globally. According to Dimon, already a commodity, agriculture, and oil markets are reeling, and more sanctions are likely to “dramatically, and unpredictably, increase their effect.”