So Jamie Dimon is human after all. His firm has finally missed the fairway and found itself in the rough. His shareholders, employees and probably the White House are desperately hoping he can reach into his bag, grab his favorite club and pull off a Bubba Watson or a Phil Mickelson. Meanwhile, some rivals on Wall Street and antagonists in Washington are likely hoping he pulls a Jean van de Velde.
With Dimon facing some serious challenges in the coming days and weeks, a wise caddy would tell him to focus on these 5 key things:
Keep your focus today — It is simply bad luck that this “tempest in a teapot” blew up right before JPMorgan’s annual shareholder meeting. If this loss had taken place six months ago, few would have inquired about it at today’s gathering. I suspect Dimon will receive questions about little else. Accountability will be key with that audience, so Dimon must highlight the swift actions that have been taken in that regard. (read more…)
In 1944, Shinnston, W.Va., was devastated by a tornado and dozens of people lost their lives in a community only a few miles from coal mines. Although the community rebuilt itself, it faced economic difficulties in the 1980s and 1990s as did other small towns. It has recovered some and now has plans for a city centerpiece.
An old theater building that took up a city block at the entrance to the historic downtown was donated to the city, but leaks and disrepair rendered it unsafe and unusable, creating “a definite sense of economic depression in the downtown,” said Emma Clarke, Shinnston’s chief financial officer. The city demolished that building and West Virginia-based WYK Associates designed a community center that Clarke hopes will bring “greater resident satisfaction, a heightened sense of community pride and loyalty and a sense of progress.”
Shinnston, with just over 2,200 residents, wants to rebuild, prosper and recover. (read more…)
This week, SmartBrief is bringing you selected highlights from the Milken Institute Global Conference.
Emerging powers China and Brazil are wary of each other
Xi-Qing Gao, vice chairman of China Investment, said during the “Global Overview: Shifting Fortunes” lunch panel that shifting taxation policies in Brazil make him wary of investing there. Meanwhile, a Brazilian businessman expressed concerns about dealing with the Chinese. Unease between the nations signals hurdles as they pursue a global scale. CNNMoney
Fed won’t likely need to provide more stimulus, Williams says
John Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, said the central bank could provide additional stimulus if the unemployment rate “got stuck,” but he doesn’t expect such circumstances. Speaking during the “U.S. Overview: Is the Recovery Sustainable?” panel, Williams also said the Fed will not allow inflation to become a problem. The Wall Street Journal
Uncertainty hindering M&A
Economic, regulatory and debt-burden uncertainties are preventing more mergers and acquisitions worldwide, members of the “Global Overview: Shifting Fortunes” panel said. (read more…)
SmartBrief is reporting live from the International Swaps and Derivatives Association 27th Annual General Meeting. Tuesday’s “Global Finance in Today’s Policy Climate” panel featured Thomas J. Sargent, a 2011 Nobel laureate in economic sciences. Sargent is the William R. Berkley Professor of Economics and Business at New York University and a Distinguished Fellow at the Becker Friedman Institute for Research in Economics at the University of Chicago. Sargent offered the following insight and analysis.
The “immaculate bailout” concept
“There are various ways that the government can default, costlessly, which also helps private debtors default, too. The oldest way in the book is inflation. That’s what the United States did during the Civil War, and that’s what Roosevelt did at the beginning of the Depression. England did it, too. You can do it costlessly. Lawyers do not have to get involved. Courts do not have to get involved because a dollar is a dollar. (read more…)
This week, SmartBrief will be bringing you selected highlights from the Milken Institute Global Conference.
PIMCO’s El-Erian expects lackluster economy to continue
PIMCO CEO Mohamed El-Erian said the firm is basing its strategy on a “lackluster recovery.” During the “Where Will Economic Growth Come From?” panel discussion, El-Erian said economic data have been weakening. “The last thing we need is a repeat of 2008, 2009, 2010, where the year starts strong,” then fades, he said. CNBC
Fed might need to raise rates sooner than expected, Warsh says
Kevin Warsh, a former governor at the Federal Reserve, said the central bank might need to increase interest rates sooner than forecast if inflation heats up or the economic recovery improves. The Fed recently kept monetary policy on hold and reiterated expectations that rates will remain near zero for a couple of years. The underlying forecasts “suggest an economy that continues to grow at a very moderate level over the forecast period, and inflation that stays more or less at core,” Warsh said during the “Where Will Economic Growth Come From?” panel discussion. (read more…)
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