If JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs both blame tariffs for stagflation, what more do you want Mr. Trump?

JPMorgan CEO says tariffs will slow economy and Goldman Sachs says tariff announcement may have caused irreversible damage

By Yiannis Damellos with news for AP

You can pray as much as you want, but the truth is that the oracles of the business world have spoken and what they said about Trump's tariffs and the shape of things to come is not good. In fact, it is very bad.

To begin with, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon says the Trump administration’s trade policies will likely result in higher prices for both imported and domestic goods and services, weighing on an already slowing U.S. economy. Trump tweeted Thursday that Dimon is a "nervous mess",  but that did not help the situation at hand or the Stock Market plunge.

The outspoken and influential CEO who often comments on both domestic and international issues, in his annual letter to shareholders, released Monday, said the U.S. economy already faced a number of challenges: sticky inflation, geopolitical tensions, Federal Reserve policy including still-high interest rates and high fiscal deficits. Dimon also said that many stocks in the market have been priced too high.

“Whether or not the menu of tariffs causes a recession remains in question, but it will slow down growth,” Dimon wrote, while also saying “I still have an abiding faith in America.”

Then came Goldman. The financial firm, in an ominous prediction, said a recession has become more likely even if Trump retreats from his trade policies.

Goldman Sachs also reduced its expectations for economic growth “following a sharp tightening in financial conditions, foreign consumer boycotts, and a continued spike in policy uncertainty that is likely to depress capital spending by more than we had previously assumed.”

But even meeting those expectations “would now require a large reduction in the tariffs scheduled to take effect on April 9.”

U.S. stocks are swinging Monday following a manic morning where indexes plunged, soared and then sank again as Wall Street tossed around a false rumor about President Donald Trump’s plans for his trade war. Some investors are holding onto hope that Trump may still lower his tariffs after negotiating with other countries, and Trump said Sunday that he’s heard from leaders “dying to make a deal.”

As of 12 p.m. EDT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 750 points, or 2%. The S&P 500 was down 1.5% and the Nasdaq composite was down 1.2%.

What to know:

Trump threatens more tariffs on China: Trump threatened additional tariffs on China on Monday, raising fresh concerns that his drive to rebalance the global economy could lead to a trade war. Trump’s threat, which he delivered on social media, came after China said it would retaliate against U.S. tariffs announced last week.

White House calls tariff pause ‘fake news': The stock market briefly spiked on an unconfirmed report that Kevin Hassett, a top White House economic adviser, said the president was considering a 90-day pause on tariffs. A White House account quickly weighed in on X, calling the report “fake news.”

How global markets fared: Stocks in Hong Kong plunged 13.2% for their worst day since 1997. Japan’s Nikkei index tumbled nearly 8%. Germany’s DAX index briefly fell more than 10% at the open on the Frankfurt exchange but recovered some ground to move down 5.8% in morning trading. In Paris, the CAC 40 shed 5.8%, while Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 4.9% in the European morning.