JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon said in a note on Friday that the bank is giving $1 million to Feeding America and United Way Worldwide to provide meals, services, counseling, and other financial aid to help federal workers and their families affected by the government shutdown.
With government officials advising unpaid federal workers to take out loans and other forms of credit in the midst of the shutdown, Dimon and JP Morgan decided to take action.
“We want a reasonable solution to the shutdown and want to see it end immediately. In the meantime, we continue to serve those who need help,” Dimon wrote.
“As the government shutdown drags on, I want you to know that we’re working hard to help our communities and our customers, just as we do whenever they are struggling. And we’re looking at other ways that we — and you — can help,” Dimon added.
Dimon’s comments come as he said earlier this week that fears of a global growth slowdown and the U.S. in the midst of a government shutdown could spell trouble for the economy.
“The U.S. economy is kind of like a ship that’s going it’s going, ex- the shutdown 2 to 2.5 percent and that’s going to keep going for a while,” said Dimon. “Then you have all this other noise, geopolitical noise, Brexit noise, what’s the Fed going to do, … shutdown, trade. They’re kind of buoys in the water in front of that ship. Eventually that may very well cause a slowdown or a recession. I don’t know 2020 or 2021, but the range of possibilities is broader and the range of bad outcomes is increasing.”
Within the backdrop of the capital markets is the ongoing government shutdown, which is now heading into its 35th day. Dimon said a combination of sound policies communicated clearly to the public is in order.
“The thing we have to do is facts, analysis, details and not just slogans — policies well done and explained to the American public as opposed to slogans and policies that’s implemented and doesn’t work,” Dimon added.
Leveraged Treasury Bear ETF Heads Higher
The benchmark 10-year yield ticked higher to 2.755, while the 30-year yield rose to 3.062. Meanwhile, short-term yields like the five-year went up to 2.592 and the two-year yield rose to 2.598.
The Direxion Daily 20+ Year Treasury Bear 3X ETF (NYSEArca: TMV) rose 1.68 percent as bond prices fell while yields went higher.