Steven Mnuchin, the founder and managing partner at Liberty Strategic Capital and former U.S. Treasury Secretary, was in New York City on March 5. He shared his thoughts on the current policy changes from the Trump administration during an interview. Mnuchin expressed his belief that there may be some overreaction to these changes and stated that he does not foresee an imminent economic slowdown in the U.S. He disagreed with predictions of a recession, citing differing outlooks from other economists.
The recent months of Trump’s second term have been characterized by escalating trade tensions with key trading partners such as Canada, Mexico, and China, with the administration announcing and then retracting tariffs. The government has also been reducing jobs, contributing to declines in consumer and business confidence surveys. While the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s GDPNow tracker predicts a contraction in the U.S. economy for the first quarter, most Wall Street economists anticipate modest growth.
Mnuchin also discussed the recent stock market pullback, emphasizing that the declines are from high levels and should not be seen as indicative of economic trouble. He highlighted that corrections in stock indexes are a natural part of market dynamics. As a former Goldman Sachs executive, Mnuchin was known for his role in economic support plans during the Covid-19 pandemic. Since leaving office, he has been managing Liberty Strategic Capital.
In other news, Ray Dalio warns about U.S. debt issues, Spotify reports significant payouts to artists, and investor sentiment towards Elon Musk’s impact on Tesla remains divided.
