July 8, 2008 1:48PM

I Wanna Be Ok

By Cheryl Casone

That was a direct quote from Jamie Dimon today, chief at JPMorgan Chase, the bank that everyone is scratching their heads over. Why? Because the smartest person knows to ask other smart people what is going on, and Dimon looks like he could be the smartest guy right now behind Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs.

He said if we were going into a recession (and Fed President Lacker said the data isn’t there yet, but whatever) that he wanted to be “OK.” Not beating the markets, not buying things on the cheap, but he just wanted to be ok.

Maybe that’s all any of us can do right now? Strive to be prepared, wait and see if there will be a crisis, which you can of course try to predict, but won’t know for sure until said crisis in your lap.

He talked about different moments in our history we all remember: the 87′ crash, the commercial real estate bubble of the 90’s, and of course the dot com bust. He said all of these had different triggers, and that not all led to a recession. Therefore, the jury is out, even in the mind of the smartest guy in the room. He was speaking at the FDIC Conference on Mortgage Lending, and after listening to Ben Bernanke and others, my takeaway was that Jamie Dimon was willing to do what most people are not: take the blame and point the finger at the same time. Not an easy thing but he pulled it off.

3 Responses to “I Wanna Be Ok”

Comment by RR

July 9th, 2008 at 12:47 pm

This comment is directed to the AB/Inbev merger/hostile takeover I own AB stock I bought it in the high 30’s now it’s in the low 60’s I have mixed emotions about AB selling or being taken over. It’s been an american beverage icon for a long time and our country was built on business icons, but if the company changes hands it will expose AB to a wider world market share, which will drive sales helping our economy among other economies. A takeover would most definitely raise my stock position. Anyway I know this is not currently on your blog page but I thought I would weigh in. Cheryl you are definitely hot, keep us in the know on the business front. Put a blog on your page about your thoughts on AB’s future I would like to read your take on this subject. Have fun be safe RR PS. On my next trip to NYC drinks with you & liz macdonald
Comment by Dana Swan

July 15th, 2008 at 1:46 am

I wanna be OK…..Sounds like all working class people to me. But, I believe that we are at the tipping point in the USA. if commodity prices continue to skyrocket and wages do not, I believe that many working class people that are one pay check away from catastrophe, may just give up…..
Comment by johnny

July 15th, 2008 at 3:03 pm

Cheryl is so hot!