JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon Goes Out On A Limb

Jamie Dimon really went out on a limb when he made the following statement:

It’s possible that we’re on the bottom and eventually will come out of it.

Yeah sure. It’s also possible that investors will recoup all their 401k savings this year. It’s also possible that the USA will pay off the Federal Deficit this year. It’s possible that gold will be back under $200/oz in three weeks. Anything is possible Jamie!

Now I know we’re just coming out of a period in which banks took “excessive” risk, so why would Dimon want to really go out on a limb and make such a wild economic prediction? I’m certain that he needed some government prodding to suggest that he even considered making such a statement.

Citing regulatory rules, he declined to comment on the stress tests that the government is administering to banks, but said he expects banks to report their results to shareholders on Friday.

Seeing that this entire rally has been manufactured by the government and the banking industry, I guess that we could expect the economic numbers on Friday to be positive. If the results of the stress test are perceived negatively, then it would make sense that there should be some good economic numbers released to coax the markets higher.

The unemployment picture will become clearer…..or….less clear on Friday.

Wholesale inventories are also expected to improve slightly.

This data will all follow the ADP report on Thursday, which will describe the employment situation, excluding Farm and GOVT workers.