Jamie Dimon Predicts 4% GDP Growth, Retracts Bitcoin Fraud Charge

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is in the news twice this morning, once regarding GDP and once for a Bitcoin retraction.

Jamie Dimon claims JP Morgan's chief economist is wrong about the economy: Dimon Predicts 4% Growth.

Dimon said he expects the “competitive tax rate” to encourage deal-making on Wall Street, pointing to Europe which he said is on pace to grow at a 3% rate. A reading of gross domestic product is slated for Jan. 26.

‘If we have a couple of years of good growth, that could justify the markets where they are. Four percent economic growth this year is possible’ , said Dimon.

J.P. Morgan’s chief U.S. economist Michael Feroli’s forecast for early GDP readings lands below his boss’s much loftier expectations, even factoring the tax cuts: “We boosted our 1Q18 real GDP forecast from 2.0% to 2.5%…following the recent passage of the tax package."

Meanwhile, Dimon also said he regretted calling bitcoin a “fraud”, but also said that he believed that blockchain, or distributed-ledger technology behind cryptocurrencies, is “real” but still thinks that digital assets like the No. 1 digital asset in the world is hyped.

“The issue, he said, is “what the governments are gonna feel about bitcoin as it gets really big, and I just have a different opinion than other people. I’m not interested that much in the subject at all.”

“The economy is doing quite well” @jpmorgan ceo Jamie Dimon “if we have a couple of years of good growth, that could justify the markets where they are. 4% economic growth this year is possible” @MorningsMaria @FoxBusiness #Dow25K

— Maria Bartiromo (@MariaBartiromo) January 9, 2018

I fail to see how tax-cut "deal making" is going to do a damn thing for the economy. Here's what it will do:

• Over-leveraged companies will but other over-leveraged companies at ridiculous prices.
• Companies will buy back more of their shares are at absurd prices.

As for a couple years of growth justifying the stock market, Dimon is full of more than hot air.

Finally, Bitcoin is a bubble, but it isn't a fraud. Dimon is the fraud.