Corporate America sees economy and hiring slowdown in H2

At a time when the financial markets are grappling with the idea of a Fed rate hike in September/December, Corporate America is worried about the economic slowdown in the second half of this year.

Wall Street Journal (WSJ) carries an article which states that a quarterly survey of COE’s by business roundtable showed the CEOs see the economic momentum slowing down along with a deceleration in hiring in the second half of the year.

The survey also showed 38% expecting to increase business spending in the next six months. The question now is will the Fed pay attention to Corporate America?

Note that Jamie Dimon from JP Morgan Chase said yesterday that a rate hike should happen now and that a move towards normalization is good sign. Dimon backing rate hike could be taken with a pinch of salt given the higher rates would improve the bank’s profitability.