Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase&Co., warned that the ongoing conflict situations in Europe and the Middle East could trigger the most severe global crisis since World War II.
In an interview, he said that the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Palestinian Israeli conflict have made the world more "terrible and unpredictable".
He said, "In the United States, we continue to have a strong economy and there are still many fiscal and monetary stimulus measures in our system. However, these geopolitical issues are very serious and can be said to be the most serious since 1938
One month after the outbreak of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the financial markets were largely unaffected by the Middle East conflict.
Since October 7th, the US stock market has risen and fallen, with the S&P 500 index up 1%. Investors are encouraged by the idea that the Federal Reserve may not raise interest rates again. The Morgan Stanley Capital International Global Index, which tracks global stock markets, also rose by about 1% during the same period.
At the same time, due to concerns that Iran, the main oil producing country, may be embroiled in a broader conflict, the prices of Brent and West Texas medium crude oil briefly soared, but since then, these two benchmark crude oil prices have fallen back to pre Israeli Palestinian levels.
Damon stated that it is futile to worry about market trends when the world is on the brink of such a serious crisis.
He emphasized that the tense geopolitical background is reshaping the world and its economy, and "what is happening in geopolitical terms is crucial for the future of the world
What has happened... Now is the most important thing for the future of the world - freedom, democracy, food, energy, immigration. When you say what impact will this have on the market? "He added.
This is not the first time Damon has warned that the Middle East conflict poses a threat to the world economy.
This may be the most dangerous moment in the world in decades, "he said at a press conference after the bank announced quarterly results last month. He mentioned several major risk factors: escalating geopolitical friction, the Federal Reserve's tightening actions, and the massive debt accumulation of the US government.
We have dealt with inflation, deficits, and economic recessions before, but since World War II, we have not really dealt with such things, "he said.