Almost all CEOs expect a recession to hit the United States within the next 12 to 18 months. Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos say it’s already too late to avoid one.
Brian Deese, President Joe Biden’s top economic adviser, believes the US economy has enough “strength and resilience” to protect it from a recession, he say it FinancialTimes This weekend.
Deese, director of the White House National Economic Council, told the British newspaper:
“If we look at where the United States is, two things are clear. The first is that we have a degree of strength and resilience in the labor market and household balance sheets and in business investment. It continues to drive our economy forward, and that’s really important
“The second is that we are in a stronger position than… frankly, any other country to navigate through this transition without having to give up these gains.”
Recession warnings galore
His comments stand in stark contrast to a chorus of warnings and complaints from CEOs, top economists and others that the United States is headed for a recession.
You’re here CEO Elon Musk suggested this week that the The United States is already in a recession– and it could last until the spring of 2024.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos sounded the alarm on the economy also this week, warning people to “batten down the hatches” amid stubbornly high inflation and continued stock market volatility.
Meanwhile, 98% of CEOs are preparing for a US recession in the next 12 to 18 months, according to the Measure of CEO Confidence survey recently released by the Conference Board.
Barry Sternlicht, the billionaire CEO of Starwood Capital Group, went further this week in a interview with Fortune. He criticized the Fed for using “old datato attack the economy with unnecessary interest rate hikes and argued that the economy is “breaking hard” as borrowing costs soar, meaning a recession is now all but inevitable. Moreover, he said, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and his “merry bunch of lunatics” are destroying faith in capitalism and driving America into “social unrest.”
Ken Griffin, CEO of hedge fund Citadel, also warned of the deeper impact a recession could have. So soon after the pandemic, he arguescould lead many Americans to believe that the American dream is over.
“Being unemployed twice in such a short time, the diminishing of job skills, career experience, the derailment of future aspirations, the belief that the American Dream is not attainable – these cultural and tangible impacts are truly devastating. “, Griffin told CNBC delivering Alpha Investor Summit this month.
The economist Nouriel Roubini, meanwhile, believes in a recession will hit the United States by the end of the year – and that it will be “severe, long and ugly”.
Amid such warnings, the upbeat messages from the White House can be shocking. Last weekend, Biden told reporters“Our economy is strong as hell.”
Responding to complaints about the strong dollar hurting other economies, he replied, “The problem is the lack of economic growth and sound policy in other countries.”
Biden acknowledged the possibility of a recession in a CNN interview earlier this month, saying, “I don’t think there will be a recession. If so, it will be a very mild recession. That is to say, we are going to go down slightly. He later added: “It is possible. Look, it’s possible. I don’t anticipate it. »
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