JPMorgan Chief Says 2009 Will Be Bleak Dimon Believes ‘Worst Not Yet Behind Us’

[Purveyor]

Source: Financial Times

The US financial and economic crisis will worsen this year as hard-hit consumers default on credit cards and other loans, Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, has predicted in an interview with the Financial Times.

Mr Dimon, whose bank will report fourth-quarter results on Thursday, gave his bleak assessment as shares on both sides of the Atlantic tumbled on rising fears that banks would need more capital and a larger-than-expected fall in US retail sales.

“The worst of the economic situation is not yet behind us. It looks as if it will continue to deteriorate for most of 2009,” said Mr Dimon. “In terms of our sector, we expect consumer loans and credit cards to continue to get worse.”

Analysts predict that JPMorgan, which has navigated the financial turmoil better than most rivals, will just about break even in its fourth-quarter results.

Investor fears over the financial sector were stoked by Tuesday’s news that Citigroup is preparing to split off a third of the company into a “non-core” unit in a bid to ensure its survival.

Read more: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7174a710-e269-11dd-b1dd-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1

[Warpy]

1. Funny to hear some money man in the US tell the truth

because we're sure not getting any of it from our teevee sets, especially if we watch the financial channels. It's happy talk, good times are coming, the bottom has been reached, blah blah blah.

The truth is that the worst mortgage paper, the funny loans given to liars for jumbo house prices are going to be resetting through summer 2010. There is nothing we can do to stop this process and the banks all know it.

They're just waiting to see just how heavy the second shoe is going to be and which of their hedge fund generated investments are going to be shown as worthless.

At the same time, people are getting nervous about their own debt burdens and the security of their jobs and they're not spending. That means high unemployment and a loss of retail infrastructure as both mom and pop stores and whole chains go bankrupt. That will become a vicious cycle if we're not careful.

There is nothing much the gummint can do to save people who were desperate enough to take on a $500,000 liar loan for a shack at the height of the madness. However, it can step in and alleviate the pain at the retail and manufacturing levels by creating a jobs program to spur demand for goods and services.

But yes, next year is going to suck.

[slipslidingaway]

2. Vote tomorrow on the second 350 billion??? n/t

[ellisonz]

3. Communism now more than ever.

[pinniped]

4. These greedy JPM/Chase assholes are busy sending out letters to WAMU credit card holders....

informing them that their rates are going up.

I hope these fuckers lose billions this year.

[InkAddict]

5. Spoken like a true snake.

Mr. Dimon represents a corporate "person" who does not honor the contracts and agreements it signs, not to mention holding the terms of its contracts hostage for its own advantage, and thinks that's just dandy.