Retail investors aren’t the only ones desperate for good news—even if it turns out to be fake. The financial titans at the very top of the Wall Street food chain are pissed.
After President Trump unveiled tariffs last week, billionaire activist investor Bill Ackman posted cryptically on X, “Sometimes the best strategy in a negotiation is convincing the other side that you are crazy.” But Ackman, whose fund Pershing Square Holdings has taken a serious hit from tariffs, seemed to change his tune today. “Alternatively, we are heading for a self-induced, economic nuclear winter, and we should start hunkering down,” he wrote on X.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon also called for a swift resolution to the tariffs in his latest shareholder letter, even after famously telling tariff-haters back in January to “get over it.”
“The quicker this issue is resolved, the better because some of the negative effects increase cumulatively over time and would be hard to reverse,” Dimon wrote. “In the short run, I see this as one large additional straw on the camel’s back.”
Other notable investors including Boaz Weinstein, Stanley Druckenmiller, and Howard Marks have also admitted they’re spooked about how Trump’s infamous tariff poster board is unfolding in real life. Even Elon Musk has voiced his concerns, butting heads with trade advisor Peter Navarro and calling for a “zero-tariff situation” between the US and Europe.
Wall Street pros are heading for the exit after selling equities at historically high rates last Thursday—even as retail investors bought the dip at historically high rates on the exact same day.
The bottom line? Nobody knows what to do.
The wolf bears of Wall Street
A slew of banks lowered their S&P 500 price targets first thing this morning. Following UBS and Wells Fargo’s lead last week, Bank of America, Evercore ISI, Oppenheimer, and JPMorgan all cut their year-end outlooks, while Morgan Stanley is warning of another 7% to 8% drop ahead.
Brace yourselves—it looks like we aren’t at the just bottom yet.—LB
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