The world according to Jamie Dimon

From: POLITICO's Morning Money - Monday Apr 04,2022 12:01 pm
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POLITICO Morning Money

By Kate Davidson and Aubree Eliza Weaver

Presented by cleanupbitcoin.com

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JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon sent his annual letter to the bank’s shareholders this morning, in which he calls for Americans to put aside partisanship and work with the rest of the world to defend democracy as the war in Ukraine rages on.

“We have seen America, in partnership with other countries around the globe, come together previously during instances of conflict and crisis,” Dimon wrote. “This juncture is also a moment when our country needs to work across the private and public sectors to lead once again by, among other remediations, improving American competitiveness and better fulfilling equal access to opportunity for all.”

Some key quotes from the letter:

On sanctions against Russia — 

“They have roiled global oil, commodity and agricultural markets. We expect the fallout from the war and resulting sanctions to reduce Russia’s GDP by 12.5% by midyear (a decline worse than the 10% drop after the 1998 default). Our economists currently think that the euro area, highly dependent on Russia for oil and gas, will see GDP growth of roughly 2% in 2022, instead of the elevated 4.5% pace we had expected just six weeks ago. By contrast, they expect the U.S. economy to advance roughly 2.5% versus a previously estimated 3%. …

“Many more sanctions could be added — which could dramatically, and unpredictably, increase their effect.”

On a “Marshall Plan” for energy —

“While the United States is fairly energy independent, we need to increase our energy production and get more gas (in the form of liquefied natural gas) to Europe immediately. Our work with all of our allies should include urging them to both increase their production and deliver some of it to Europe. To do this, we also need immediate approval for additional oil leases and gas pipelines, as well as permits for green energy projects; i.e., solar and wind. We cannot accomplish our goals with misguided and counterproductive policies.”

On the Fed

“I do not envy the Fed for what it must do next: The stronger the recovery, the higher the rates that follow (I believe that this could be significantly higher than the markets expect) and the stronger the quantitative tightening (QT). If the Fed gets it just right, we can have years of growth, and inflation will eventually start to recede. In any event, this process will cause lots of consternation and very volatile markets. The Fed should not worry about volatile markets unless they affect the actual economy. A strong economy trumps market volatility.”

On “the rut of false narratives”

“Our policies are often incomprehensible and uncoordinated, and our policy decisions frequently have no forethought and no identification of desired outcomes.

“We sometimes blame inflation on corporate profits — for example, the cost of meat in the United States is high not because of the profits earned by the meat packing industry but because of high cattle and feed costs and disruptions in logistics. Similarly, energy costs are high not because of price gouging but because of the dramatic decline in investments in energy, which results in reduced supply when demand goes up.”

Climate groups push back — In a letter to Dimon on Monday shared with MM, more than two dozen climate advocacy groups blasted the JPMorgan CEO over his so-called Marshall Plan, saying it “would further lock us into energy sources that are overly expensive and subject to wild price swings, and that exacerbate rather than ease global conflict.”

Among the signatories to the letter: The Sierra Club, Public Citizen, Greenpeace, Amazon Watch, Revolving Door Project, Rainforest Action Network and the Center for International Environmental Law.

They argued that the Biden administration and the private sector should be driving investments in renewable energy that help reduce emissions, and said more investments in fossil fuel expansion would do nothing to relieve short-term supply constraints. It’s not just bad for the planet, they said, it’s financially unsound.

“Lobbying for fossil fuel expansion, including expanded liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, pits JPMorgan Chase’s short-term, profit-driven interests against the safety and stability of a world facing an unfolding climate crisis,” they wrote.

IT’S MONDAY — Congrats, Tar Heels and Jayhawks fans! Your MM host will be a neutral observer of tonight’s game. Nevertheless, get those tips and story ideas in early, please: kdavidson@politico.com or @katedavidson, and aweaver@politico.com or @aubreeeweaver.

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Driving the Day

TODAY: U.S. factory orders data released at 8:30 a.m. …Penn Law Capital Markets Center conference on the future of crypto and digital assets at 1 p.m.

THIS WEEK: Fed Governor Lael Brainard speaks at a Minneapolis Fed conference Tuesday … Washington Post Live discussion with Ukraine Deputy Prime Minister of Digital Transformation Alex Bornyakov on the world’s first “crypto war” Tuesday … Senate Banking hearing to consider insider trading legislation Tuesday … Senate Budget hearing on corporate profits and rising prices Tuesday … House Financial Services hearing on financial institutions’ role in slavery

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testifies at House Financial Services on the state of the international financial system Wednesday … Senate Banking nomination hearing on U.S. Mint, Treasury nominees … SEC meeting on security-based swap execution facilities rules … Fed meeting minutes released Wednesday … House Select Committee on Economic Disparity hearing on market concentration, compensation and prices Wednesday … IRS Commissioner Rettig testifies at Senate Finance hearing on IRS budget and filing season Thursday.

EU WARNS OF TOUGHER SANCTIONS AFTER REPORTS OF CIVILIAN EXECUTIONS — Our Helen Collis: “Europe will impose further sanctions on Russia and bolster its support to Ukraine after reports of the massacre and rape of civilians in towns regained from Russian troops.

“As Russia concentrated its offensive on the east and south of the country, Ukrainian forces reclaiming villages and towns around Kyiv claimed numerous apparent human rights atrocities. Among their discoveries were dead women left naked in the street and, according to the Ukrainian defense ministry, raped.”

An EU official told POLITICO that EU countries have agreed to prepare — and possibly speed through and tighten — the next phase of sanctions, while German Finance Minister Christian Lindner confirmed talks would start Monday, Helen reported.

RUSSIA IS ON ITS WAY TO AUTARKY — Our Victoria Guida: “Russia is on the way to becoming economically cut off from the rest of the world and is ill-equipped to operate as a self-sufficient autarky, a top U.S. Treasury official said Friday.

“The senior official said on a call with reporters that while Western sanctions still allow Russian exports of energy and other goods for strategic and humanitarian reasons, the country is becoming isolated to the point where it will eventually only be able to consume what’s made within its borders.”

OCC CHIEF WARNS OF GAP IN REGULATION — Victoria again: Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu on Friday “suggested that regulators should do more to ensure large regional lenders are capable of breaking up safely if they fail, calling it a gap in the regulatory defenses of the U.S. financial system.

“In a speech at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, [Hsu] pointed to multiple regional banks that have assets above $500 billion and warned that if one were to fail, ‘the only viable option would be to sell it’ to a megabank.”

COURT ORDERS USTR TO REEVALUATE SOME TRUMP CHINA TARIFFS — Our Doug Palmer: “Opponents of former President Donald Trump's trade war with China won a partial legal victory on Friday when the Court of International Trade ordered the U.S. Trade Representative to reconsider and provide justification if possible for some of the tariffs that Trump imposed on more than $350 billion worth of Chinese goods.”

HOW THE SEC’S SWAPS PROPOSAL COULD CHOKE OFF SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM — WSJ’s Alex Edmans: “A push by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for more transparency around security-based swap positions might seem, on its face, to be a no-brainer. …

“There is, however, a potential downside to the SEC’s proposal for increased disclosure of swap positions that might not be immediately apparent: If passed, the rules could severely restrain shareholder activism — a key market mechanism for holding corporate managements accountable, improving governance and creating sustainable value.”

 

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Crypto

NJ LAWMAKERS PUSH TO OVERTAKE NEW YORK WITH CRYPTO REGSOur Sam Sutton : “Democrats in the state legislature are pushing a bill that would create a basic legal framework for digital asset businesses, which lawmakers say will compete with a licensing system in New York that the industry has characterized as expensive and cumbersome. And while the bill was crafted with consumer protection in mind, its primary sponsor says she hopes to signal to crypto firms that the Garden State is open for business.”

SHORT SELLERS BET TETHER IS VULNERABLE TO A RUN — WSJ’s Peter Rudegeair: “Short sellers are betting against a cryptocurrency whose price shouldn’t move. A few investment firms, including Fir Tree Partners and Viceroy Research LLC, have placed substantial bets in recent months that the price of tether will fall, according to people familiar with the matter. Tether is the most popular currency for trading bitcoin and is supposed to have a fixed value pegged to the U.S. dollar.”

 

SUBSCRIBE TO NATIONAL SECURITY DAILY : Keep up with the latest critical developments from Ukraine and across Europe in our daily newsletter, National Security Daily. The Russian invasion of Ukraine could disrupt the established world order and result in a refugee crisis, increased cyberattacks, rising energy costs and additional disruption to global supply chains. Go inside the top national security and foreign-policymaking shops for insight on the global threats faced by the U.S. and its allies and what actions world leaders are taking to address them. Subscribe today.

 
 
Fed File

FED SEEKING TO FIND WHERE ‘PHANTOM MENACE’ NEUTRAL RATE SITS — Bloomberg’s Rich Miller: “Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and his colleagues are on the march to return ultra-loose monetary policy and accommodative financial conditions to more normal levels. The trouble is, their destination is uncertain and the terrain may be shifting as they forge forward with higher interest rates. Policy makers differ on what the neutral rate -- the rate that neither restricts nor spurs economic growth -- is and couch it in terms that don’t take account of the current high inflation environment. And they’re unsure what effect their removal of monetary largess will have on fickle financial markets and an economy that have grown accustomed to ultra-low rates.”

FED’S WILLIAMS: PACE OF RATE INCREASES DEPENDS ON ECONOMY’S RESPONSE — Reuters’ Howard Schneider: “The Federal Reserve needs to move monetary policy towards a more neutral stance, but the pace at which it tightens credit will depend on how the economy reacts, New York Fed President John Williams said Saturday.”

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM MARCH JOBS REPORT — AP’s Christopher Rugaber: “Solid hiring, strong wage gains and sharp price increases are drawing more Americans into the workforce. The trend, if sustained, would mean some long-awaited relief for businesses that have been desperate to fill jobs. The number of people either working or looking for work still hasn’t fully recovered from the mass layoffs that followed the eruption of COVID-19. But Friday’s jobs report showed that it is clearly heading in that direction.”

 

STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.

 
 
Jobs Report

Jonathan Ostry will join Georgetown University’s economics department in August as a professor of practice. Ostry spent 34 years at the International Monetary Fund, most recently as deputy director of research and acting director for the Asia Pacific region.

Adam Rice is joining FTI Consulting as a managing director in the financial services public affairs practice. He was previously senior vice president and head of public affairs at the American Securities Association and is a veteran of the House Financial Services Committee.

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We need to persuade the few dozen decision makers running and backing Bitcoin’s polluting operations to move Bitcoin to a new software code. The cost to Bitcoin is small — but the cost to our planet could be enormous. Let’s change the code, not the climate. Go to cleanupbitcoin.com

 
Fly Around

Compensation for U.S. chief executives has rebounded as the pandemic recedes, putting it on pace to set a record amid a tight labor market that is also driving pay higher for many of their workers. —WSJ’s Theo Francis

Despite his upper-class background, Fidelity’s Edward C. Johnson III is credited with helping to change the way the middle class thought about its money, transforming Americans from savers to investors. That’s why he matters. — NYT’s Joe Nocera

Whatever hardships are afflicting global stock investors, it’s worse in other markets, and that alone may be enough to keep the equity rebound going for now. — Bloomberg’s Nikos Chrysoloras, Jan-Patrick Barnert and Sagarike Jaisinghani

 

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