JPMorgan's Dimon warns of myriad issues for economy, bank

NEW YORK (AP) - Jamie Dimon laid out a laundry list of big risks looming for the global and U.S. economy in his letter to JPMorgan Chase shareholders on Monday,

Dimon's annual letter has become something of a tradition for JPMorgan investors as well as the public. Never too shy to share his thoughts on anything, the CEO and chairman of JPMorgan often uses his shareholder letter to not only discuss ongoing challenges for the bank but also political or social issues that he feels need to be addressed.

'œWe are facing challenges at every turn: a pandemic, unprecedented government actions, a strong recovery after a sharp and deep global recession, a highly polarized U.S. election, mounting inflation, a war in Ukraine and dramatic economic sanctions against Russia," he wrote.

The letter is a contrast to last year's version, when vaccines were rolling out nationwide and it appeared like the U.S. economy was accelerating out of the pandemic-caused economic turmoil.

Dimon spent much of the latest letter discussing the issue of inflation, which has accelerated sharply in the past year and is now at four-decade highs. He warned that the war in Ukraine could accelerate inflation due to higher food and energy costs.

He also put some blame on the Federal Reserve, which now faces a need to increase interest rates sharply this year to combat inflation.

'œThe Federal Reserve and the government did the right thing by taking bold dramatic actions following the misfortune unleashed by the pandemic. In hindsight, it worked. But also in hindsight, the medicine '¦ was probably too much and lasted too long.'ť