‘It Is Going to Happen': JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon Warns of Crack in Bond Market
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned of a crack in the bond market and said the U.S. should be stockpiling military equipment instead of Bitcoin at an economic forum on Friday.
Dimon, who was interviewed on stage at the Reagan National Economic Forum in Simi Valley, Calif., prompted some market jitters during Friday's sideways trading session.
Asked if he thought so-called 'bond vigilantes" that sell U.S. Treasuries due to worries about growing deficits have returned, Dimon replied 'Yeah." The bank executive pointed to trillions of dollars in borrowing and spending in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, which he described as 'huge sums of money, and we don't really know the full effect of that."
'You are going to see a crack in the bond market," Dimon said. 'It is going to happen. And I tell this to my regulators, some of you who are in this room, I'm telling you it's going to happen, and you're going to panic."
'I'm not gonna panic," he added. 'We'll be fine. We'll probably make more money, and then some of my friends will tell me 'We like crises because it's good for JPMorgan Chase.' Not really."
Government debt has been in focus after the U.S. lost its last perfect Aaa rating earlier this month when Moody's downgraded U.S. sovereign debt to AA+. The yield on the 30-year Treasury note jumped 0.25 percentage point in May, its largest one-month gain since December, according to Dow Jones Market Data. It set a 52-week high north of 5% on May 21.
Dimon also warned of the 'enemy within" in the U.S., calling for a unified front and fixes to things like permitting, regulations, immigration, taxation, schools, and healthcare, among other issues. But he argued the most important issue was maintaining military alliances and the strongest military in the world.
'If we are not the preeminent military and the preeminent economy in 40 years, we will not be the reserve currency," Dimon said. 'That's a fact. Just read history."
He said the U.S. has to 'get our act together, and we have to do it very quickly."
He also weighed in on the Trump administration's Bitcoin efforts to amass large quantities of the cryptocurrency and the U.S. dollar's current status as the world's reserve currency.
'We shouldn't be stockpiling Bitcoin," Dimon said. 'We should be stockpiling guns, bullets, tanks, planes, drones, you know, rare earths."
Write to Connor Smith at connor.smith@barrons.com
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
37 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Sulphur-cleaning device in coal plants not necessary: Central scientific committee
A high-powered committee of experts, chaired by Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) Ajay Sood, has recommended that India do away with a decade-long policy of mandating equipment, called Flu Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) units, in all coal-fired thermal power plants (TPPs), according to documents perused by The Hindu. These FGD units are required to be retro-fitted in TPPs to cut harmful sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions. While 92% of India's 600 TPPs have not yet installed FGD units, the recommendation would exempt about 80% of them from needing to install such equipment. The limited number of vendors capable of installing such equipment in India, the high installation costs, the potential rise in electricity bills, and disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic have been some of the reasons historically cited by the Power Ministry, the overseer of India's TPPs, for plants' inability to adhere to previous deadlines. In theory, the costs of non-compliance could run to crores of rupees in fines, though these have not materialised thanks to deadline extensions. 'FGD not necessary' However, this was the first time that multiple arms of the government congregated to deliberate on whether FGDs were required in the first place. Their verdict draws on three reports by the CSIR-NEERI, the National Institute of Advanced Studies, and the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. The lead scientists of these three institutions – each 'supported' by different arms of the government – were at the meeting on April 23, along with representatives from the Office of the PSA, the Union Power Ministry, and the NITI Ayog. They were all largely unanimous that FGD 'was not necessary.' The guiding principles informing the committee's recommendation are that: SO2 levels in ambient air across the country are around 10-20 micrograms/cubic metre, well below India's air quality norms of 80; Indian coal is low in sulphur; SO2 levels in cities near plants with operational FGD units do not differ significantly from those without these units, and all of these were anyway well below permissible levels. The committee opined that concerns about sulphates – a potential by-product when SO2 emissions reach certain atmospheric levels, thus forming particulate matter (PM) – are unfounded. They cited an analysis of 5,792 PM samples across the country, which found 'low elemental sulphur' content (max 8 micrograms/m3 after outlier removal) which was deemed 'insignificant — for considering PM removal as a benefit of FGD.' FGDs may worsen carbon emissions One argument mentioned in the report was that using FGDs might result in additional carbon dioxide emissions and accentuate global warming. 'Installing FGDs in all TPPs by 2030 will increase the Auxiliary Power Consumption (APC) of the TPPs, thereby adding approximately 69 million tons of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere (2025-30) while reducing SO2 emissions by —17 million tons. Adding more long-lived CO2 emissions while removing short-lived SO2 emissions by installing FGDs indiscriminately in all TPPs in India despite the low Sulphur content of Indian coal will enhance global warming.' On the other hand, given that burning coal is India's primary source of electricity, India's annual SO2 emissions has risen from 4,000 kilotonnes in 2010 to 6,000 kilotonnes in 2022. By comparison, Indonesia, a source of imported coal to India has averaged about 2,000 kt in the same period, according to data from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), a Helsinki-based think tank. This is when India's emission standards, at 100 micrograms/m3 (thus requiring FGD), is lower than Indonesia's 800. Environment Ministry 'studying' order Those who attended the meeting included the Secretary, Minister of Power and three other senior officials; Secretary, Environment and Forests and two other officials; four officials of the Office of the PSA; representatives of the NITI Ayog, Central Electricity Authority (the power regulator), Central Pollution Control Board, and academicians. A detailed questionnaire to the Power Ministry was unanswered until press time. Tanmay Kumar, Secretary, Environment Ministry, told The Hindu that his Ministry was 'studying' the order. India has 180 coal-fired thermal power plants, each of them with multiple units. The 600 TPPs, depending on their size, age, proximity to densely populous cities, and background pollution levels, were given different timelines by the Environment Ministry to comply with the FGD installation requirements. Deadlines have been shifted three times, with the most recent extension coming on Dec 31, 2024. Major population centres The committee, according to the minutes of the meeting seen by The Hindu, will 'recommend' to the Power and Environment Ministers that only power plants located within a 10-km radius of the National Capital Region and other cities with a million-plus population be required to install FGDs. These are called Category A plants. There are 66 such plants, and only 14 of them have installed FGDs. Currently, all these plants are required to comply by 2027. Plants within a 10-km radius of 'Critically Polluted Cities' or 'Non Attainment Cities', called Category B plants, would be eligible for exemption on a 'case by case' basis, on a joint review by the Central Electricity Authority or Central Pollution Control Board. There are 72 such plants, with only four having installed FGD. These plants currently have a deadline of 2028. The remaining 462 plants all come under Category C, of which 32 have installed FGDs. These plants have been given a 2029 deadline, but the committee has now recommended that Category C plants be exempted completely, along with some units in Categories A and B which were set up at least 20 years ago. 'Will not affect public health' 'The key common point in these studies is that fitment of FGDs in all TPPs in India is not necessary to comply with the NAAQ (National Ambient Air Quality) standards whose compliance is essential to safeguard public health. While all TPPs must comply with the December 2015 stack emission standards for PM pollution and freshwater consumption, the SO2 stack emission standards can be relaxed to ensure that they are in conformance with the NAAQ standards which are notified by CPCB, keeping in mind the human health and other aspects. This way, TPPs may be able to comply with these standards without fitting FGDs. Since the existing NAAQ standards (for ambient SO2) must be complied with, this change will not affect human health in India,' the committee concludes. Currently, State governments or affiliated companies run a majority of the Category A TPPs, whereas private authorities hold the highest share in Categories B and C.
Time of India
38 minutes ago
- Time of India
Season's 1st Covid death in state is 43-yr-old with comorbidities
1 2 Kolkata: Bengal saw its first Covid-related death this year, after a 43-year-old woman passed away at a south Kolkata hospital on Tuesday. The deceased had heart and kidney ailments, said sources. This was among the five Covid deaths reported across the country on Tuesday. While the current spike is causing mostly mild infections, individuals with comorbidities need to remain cautious as they were vulnerable to severe infections, said health experts. The state reported 41 fresh cases in the past 24 hours, taking its total active caseload to 372, most of which are concentrated in Kolkata. At present, almost all major hospitals across the city have patients admitted for Covid treatment. The 43-year-old woman was admitted to CMRI Hospital on May 28 with complaints of a two-week-long bout of fever and respiratory distress. Suspected of an infection, her respiratory samples were sent for a viral panel test and she tested positive for Covid-19. While she apparently had no existing health conditions, tests revealed her heart ejection fraction was as low as 20%. Her urine output kept declining, due to which she was given dialysis. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Initially under BiPAP support, doctors had to put her on ventilation as she kept sinking. "On finding sepsis indications, our medical team put up their best. But the decline in her condition, including the organ damage, was very swift. Some adjuvant health conditions were probably the cause of such a fast decline," said the unit medical head of the hospital. The death report cites acute coronary syndrome, acute kidney injury and septic shock in a case of Covid-19. Of the eight Covid-19 positive patients admitted at the hospital, the 43-year-old was the only one under intensive care. Reacting to this, Peerless Hospital chief microbiologist Bhaskar Narayan Chaudhuri said: "Whenever there is an outbreak of any infection like influenza, adenovirus, or Covid-19, there would be a few mortalities. That is the reason why the vulnerable need to remain protected." Peerless's lab detected three positive cases on Tuesday, including that of a child, who is admitted at the hospital. Critical care and ECMO specialist Arpan Chakraborty of Apollo Multispecialty Hospital said that a section of patients with comorbidities was likely to need intensive care if they tested positive for Covid. Among the seven Covid positive patients admitted at the hospital was an 80-year-old man who had heart issues. "Timely detection and close monitoring in hospital are required for patients," said infectious diseases specialist Sayan Chakraborty of Manipal Hospital Dhakuria. "We have three Covid patients, including one in the ICU, while we discharged two recently," said Doli Biswas, chief nursing officer of Fortis Hospital Anandapur. RN Tagore Hospital has two Covid-19 positive patients.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Have to deliver maximum planes to IndiGo, AI: Airbus
NEW DELHI: For Airbus, IndiGo and Air India are now among the top three airline customers globally with the maximum backlog or aircraft yet to be delivered, according to the aerospace major's EVP (sales, commercial aircraft) Benoit de Saint-Exupery. It has to deliver 916 and 344 aircraft, majority of which are narrow body, to IndiGo and AI, respectively, said an official. Malaysia-based AirAsia Group, which once used to run a JV airline in India with the Tatas, is at the second spot at 393 planes. In Delhi for the IATA AGM, Benoit had some good news for airlines that are getting increasingly frustrated with delivery delays (including from Boeing too). "We are seeing the first signs of stability in supply chain. We (are) now back to the pre-Covid level of producing 60 A320 family of single aisle planes every month and hope to increase this number to 75 by 2027. We have the orders and are ramping up production and every commercial (Airbus) aircraft that's flying going forward will be made partly made in India," Benoit said. Asked if the order book for 1,750 planes from IndiGo and AI makes a case for India to get a final assembly line (FAL), Benoit said: "We will have final assembly lines on the other products (one for H125 helicopters for its civil range and other for C295 military aircraft). by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Anvisa aprova solução para ajudar a reduzir gordura visceral da barriga em 7 dias! Você Mais Saudável Hoje Saiba Mais Undo On commercial aircraft side, we are looking at expanding our footprint with industry here in India. Sourcing from India has much value than an FAL for commercial aircraft and we are constantly increasing the same from here. Airbus sourcing from India was $500 millon in 2020. We crossed the $1-billion mark in 2023 and last year we were at $1.4 billion. We will reach $ 2 billion before the end of the decade." Remi Maillard, president of Airbus India and MD of south Asia region, said: "India is not only a market for us. It has become a strategic resource and industrial base for Airbus." About delays in aircraft deliveries due to supply chain issues, Benoit said: "Now we are seeing the first signs of stability in the supply chain. But you, you never quite rest because, as we all know, the situation can change quite quickly nowadays." Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
