Zohran Mamdani's victory in NYC mayoral primary leaves Wall Street 'alarmed' and 'depressed'
To say Wall Street isn't a fan of Zohran Mamdani would be an understatement.
In fact, high-profile investors and business leaders in the Big Apple are up in arms about the stunning win by the democratic socialist in the primary to win the Democratic nomination to serve as the next New York City mayor. The three-term Assemblymember's potential victory in the November general election could bring what the Street hates most — tax hikes and tighter regulation threatening corporate and investment interests.
Philippe Laffont, founder of hedge fund Coatue Management, told CNBC that a Mamdani win could trigger another exodus of wealthy investors. Since the pandemic, a wave of wealthy residents and institutional firms have fled the nation's largest city for low-tax states such as Florida and Texas.
"Some people are going to, for sure, go," Laffont said on CNBC's "Squawk Box" Wednesday after former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo conceded the Democratic nomination. "It's not quite done yet. There's still an election. Maybe Cuomo will re-enter as an independent."
Mamdani's emphasis on socialism and redistribution of wealth runs counter to Wall Street's preference for unbridled capitalism and policies that support growth, such as deregulation and low taxes. The 33-year-old has supported taxing the ultra-wealthy, financial transactions and passive income like dividends. He has also endorsed a state-level wealth tax and increased marginal income tax rates on high earners.
Hedge fund magnate Bill Ackman said he woke up Wednesday "a bit depressed" by Mamdani's victory. The the Pershing Square chief said he's now looking at the logistics for another candidate, not himself, to run.
Lawrence Summers, the former Treasury Secretary and president of Harvard University, also expressed his distaste Mamdani's nomination.
"I am profoundly alarmed about the future of the [Democratic National Committee] and the country, by yesterday's NYC anointment of a candidate who failed to disavow a 'globalize the intifada' slogan and advocated Trotskyite economic policies," Summers said in a post on X.
Part of the stock market has already felt the pain from the prospect of a Mamdani-led NYC. Shares of New York regional bank Flagstar, with exposure to the New York real estate market, sank nearly 4% Wednesday. Office-focused real estate stocks also suffered, with SL Green Realty down more than 6% and Vornado Realty Trust down nearly 7%.
Mamdani advocates for universal rent control, and the New York City mayor has the power to appoint representatives to the regulatory board that oversees rent-controlled and rent-stabilized apartments. A pause on rent increases would hurt the profits of multi-family rental properties.
Roughly one million New York City apartments are rent stabilized but only about 20,000 are still rent controlled.
"It appears that NYC is electing to commit suicide by Mayor," Jim Bianco, president and macro strategist at Bianco Research, said in a post on X Tuesday evening.
Mamdani's solution to most problems relies on an ideological commitment to taxpayer-funded spending, and that leaves the business community concerned, said Kathryn Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City, a nonprofit group of CEOs founded by David Rockefeller in 1979.
"Terror is the feeling," Wylde said on CNBC Tuesday morning as voters headed to the polls, although she noted that "there's much positive in New York. But that could quickly shift if we lose confidence in the mayor."
Wylde said the state government, led by Gov. Kathy Hochul, should keep the city out of a "disaster" scenario. She acknowledged concerns about the high cost of living and doing business, but said that raising taxes isn't the solution.
Some of former Governor Cuomo's strongest support came from the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the home to many of New York City's highest earners and business titans. The former Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the Clinton administration received more than seven out of every 10 first-choice votes in several of the precincts in this neighborhood, according to Associated Press data as of Wednesday.
In 2013, Bill de Blasio's win also triggered anxiety among the financial elite, but he was able to ease fears by meeting business leaders directly before implementing sweeping reforms.
"We had Mayor DeBlasio for eight years. New York is really strong. I'm hopeful the same will happen," Laffont said.
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New York Post
31 minutes ago
- New York Post
James Carville calls Zohran Mamdani's NYC mayoral primary victory a ‘potentially damaging event' for Democratic Party
Veteran strategist James Carville warned on Wednesday how democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani winning the New York City mayoral primary may be a burden for the Democratic Party. Mamdani, a Ugandan-born New York State Assemblyman from Queens, caused a major upset by defeating former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the race to become the Democratic Party's nominee for New York City mayor. Republicans and some Democrats have blasted Mamdani, warning he is a grim sign of America's political future. Carville, one of the most famous strategists in American politics, has been speaking about the Democratic Party's need to ditch far-left politics since well before the 2024 election. He spoke about Mamdani's surprising victory on his podcast with co-host Al Hunt, warning it may be yet another hurdle for struggling Democrats. The strategist noted that Mamdani 'has not walked back' calls for 'global infitada' [sic]. Carville was referencing how Mamdani refused to disavow the phrase 'Globalize the intifada,' which pro-Israeli supporters argue is a call for violence, and Israel opponents tout as a mere call to struggle against oppression. 4 Carville warned that Mamdani's victory may be yet another hurdle for struggling Democrats. Youtube / Politicon 'Maybe he'll turn out to be a very skilled candidate that can skillfully navigate some of what I refer to as 'esoteric' positions,' Carville said, appearing to refer to Mamdani's policy of government-run grocery stores, which bewildered the seasoned strategist. 'There's a lot of baseball left here,' Carville said of the mayoral election. 'We've got a lot of baseball left to play.' Hunt argued that New York City is not a reliable indicator for America at-large, citing how many of its most iconic mayors did not represent a larger political shift outside of their city. 4 Republicans and some Democrats have blasted Mamdani, warning he is a grim sign of America's political future. 'However, I do believe that Republicans will jump on this,' he said. He then appeared to refer to Rep. Elise Stefanik's, R-N.Y., comment where she warned about Mamdani being a 'radical, Defund-the-Police, Communist, raging Antisemite.' Hunt denied that Mamdani is a communist, but argued, 'he does have some issues that the Republicans will love to talk about.' 'I can't imagine that any Democratic candidate anywhere in the country is going to be able to escape answering this question. I think the microphone's going to follow him around. I think that they're going to pound this home as hard as they possibly can,' Carville agreed. 4 Hunt argued that New York City is not a reliable political indicator for America at-large. Youtube / Politicon A big part of the answer, Carville replied, is encouraging people to 'look at our nominees in Virginia and New Jersey.' However, he said, 'Depending on who comes in a general election, there's a lot of Democrats that are going to have a hard go at this. I think it's a potentially damaging event.' Both of the hosts drew parallels between former President Joe Biden and Cuomo being rejected as symbols of the Democratic Party's past in favor of something entirely new. 4 Supporters celebrate as Zohran Mamdani leads in the Democratic Primary for New York Mayor at the 'Zohran For NYC Election Night Party' in New York City on June 24, 2025. Derek French/Shutterstock 'Sometimes the Democratic Party's attitude is 'take this and eat it, because you gotta eat it,' and people don't like that,' Carville said, arguing that mentality was enforced on Democrats with Biden and then with Cuomo. The rejection of this, he said, goes beyond ideology and is a generational shift, one could either be positive or negative for the Democrats' future. 'I think this guy creates probably more problems than opportunities for the Democrats,' Hunt later argued after criticizing his grocery store proposal as 'not realistic at all.' Carville warned that opposition to Mamdani is going to 'keep unearthing stuff' from his past. 'I mean he's gotta give an umbrella answer for all of this,' he said. 'You know, Harris had the same problem.'
CNBC
an hour ago
- CNBC
Japan rice crisis shows signs of easing as prices stabilize and stocks return to shelves
After months of increasing rice prices, Japanese consumers may be finally getting some relief. Data from Japan's agriculture ministry revealed that the average price of a five-kg bag of rice had fallen to 3,920 yen ($27.03) for the week ending June 15, which marked the first time that rice had fallen below the 4,000-yen mark since the week that ended on March 2. This was also the first time that rice prices came within the target set by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. In May, Ishiba promised to lower prices, reportedly saying he believed that "rice prices should be in the 3,000-yen range, since staying in the 4,000-yen range can't be right." Ishiba also reportedly told opposition lawmakers that he would take personal responsibility for the matter. Rice has been a hot-button topic in Japan, with surging prices and shortages leading to empty shelves in supermarkets across the country. Careless comments over rice had even cost a minister his job. Japan's former farm minister Taku Eto stepped down in May, following public outrage over his comments on getting free rice from supporters. Rice prices in Japan rose sharply in the second half of 2024 — on the back of poor harvests in 2023 and an outsized demand from tourists — and accelerated further in the first half of this year. Yoichi Ryu, a 26-year-old Tokyo resident, told CNBC on Friday that the spike in rice prices was stark. He recounted that a five-kilo bag of ice cost about 1,800 yen to 2,000 yen two years ago, but prices have more than doubled to between 4,500 and 5,000 yen. "The increase was very drastic this year, maybe from March to April. So just a couple months ago, they have been increasing every single day, maybe a couple hundred yen, every single day," he added. Government data revealed that rice prices had more than doubled in May, skyrocketing by 101.7% and marking the largest increase in over half a century. However, it seems that there is some light at the end of the tunnel for Japan's rice shortage. Besides the release of government rice reserves, retailers have been offering rice imported from overseas, such as the U.S. and South Korea. Supermarket Aeon started selling California-sourced rice on June 6, saying that the decision was made amid low domestic rice supplies in Japan. In April, Japan imported rice from South Korea for the first time since 1999, Bloomberg said. South Korean food export company The O Global was also reported to have signed an agreement in May to export 200 tons of South Korean rice to help ease Japan's supply shortage. The contract represents the largest volume of rice ever exported by a private South Korean company for general consumer sales in Japan, the Korea Times reported. In response to queries from CNBC, Japan's National Supermarket Association said that the shortage in Japan appears to be easing "thanks to the release of government rice stockpiles." But supply recovery has been uneven, with rice shortage persisting in some places. Roy Larke, professor of Japan business at Tokyo-based intelligence firm told CNBC that some supermarkets around Tokyo still have empty rice displays, but these are small stores. He added that "some chains don't seem to be having a problem and that some regional stores do have rice." Yoichi said, "I remember recently, I've gone to [the] supermarket to buy rice to restock, but I couldn't buy them because they just weren't there, but their price tags were still present." Despite rice making a comeback, prices still remain high. The National Supermarket Association said that there is "no stock of reasonably-priced rice." Many stores seem to have unsold high-priced rice, it added. Larke highlighted there may be other reasons for this, noting that "a month on from the government releasing stockpiles, prices of branded rice have only just begun to dip and, it currently seems, only slightly so far." When Japan's government released its emergency stockpiles, it had sold rice directly to retailers, aiming to get these stocks to consumers at 2,000 yen per sack. "The fact that wholesale, branded rice prices took a month to begin to decline and are still above the government's target [of 2,000 yen per 5kg bag] suggests that it may be more than just a supply and demand issue," Larke consumers are concerned that the stockpiled rice is old and not as tasty, he added. Yoichi echoed the same sentiment, saying that the government's grain stock is of poorer quality compared to newly harvested stocks of rice. In Japan, newly harvested rice is marketed as "shinmai", literally new rice, and is perceived to taste better. There is even a legal requirement that only rice packaged by December 31 of that year is allowed to be labelled as "shinmai."After the next year's harvest, the current crop will be known as "komai," or old rice. The government reserves come from older crops, and terms like "ko-ko-komai" (literally, old-old-old rice) are being used to describe the 2021 crop. Statements from Japan's central bank officials indicated that while they are keeping an eye on rice prices, such sharp increases are likely to ease going forward. BOJ governor Kazuo Ueda said in a press conference after the central bank's June meeting that "when we look at recent data, consumer inflation is moving around 3%. But this is mostly due to rising import costs and rice prices ... we expect such pressures to dissipate," according to comments translated by Reuters.
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Mamdani says his platform would be successful with candidates outside of NYC
New York State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, who appears to have secured a win in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary, said Wednesday that his platform would be successful with candidates outside of his city. 'Do you think that is a platform that would work for other candidates running in other parts of the country?' MSNBC's Jen Psaki asked Mamdani in an interview on 'The Briefing.' 'Absolutely. I think ultimately, this is a campaign about inequality, and you don't have to live in the most expensive city in the country to have experienced that inequality, because it's a national issue,' Mamdani responded. 'And what Americans coast to coast are looking for are people who will fight for them, not just believe in the things that resonate with their lives, but actually fight and deliver on those very things,' he added. Mamdani, a democratic socialist, shocked American political observers Tuesday as he seemed to be on the path to winning the Democratic nomination for the Big Apple's mayoral race over former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. He immigrated to the U.S. from Uganda as a child and has spent most of his life in the nation's biggest city. If Mamdani clinches New York City's top job, he would be its first Muslim and Asian mayor. The results will be final by July 1. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said in a recent interview that former Vice President Harris would be president if she had used the same campaign playbook as Mamdani. 'Look, he ran a brilliant campaign. And it wasn't just him. What he understood and understands — campaign's not over — is that to run a brilliant campaign, you have to run a grassroots campaign,' Sanders told Politico Magazine in a piece published Wednesday.
