The News
Investors and executives need to know US President Donald Trump’s policy endgame — and going without that information is what drives the market turmoil forward, Carlyle Group CEO Harvey Schwartz said Thursday at Semafor’s World Economy Summit in Washington, DC.
“It’s really a question of how long this period of uncertainty around the rule set persists. Because the challenge for that is, how do you make decisions? How much inventory do you buy?” Schwartz said. What small and large businesses alike need “is a rule set so they can optimize the rule set.”
However, Schwartz added that the market disruptions today are prompted by a global “policy shift” that’s been underway for years, especially around issues such as energy policy and national security.
“I don’t think people should have been as surprised as they were,” Schwartz told Semafor’s Liz Hoffman. “Even if you go back a couple of years, you could feel the trends of globalization were pulling back, and now you’re seeing policy initiatives that are driving a different agenda.”
He indicated that those themes will likely endure and drive investment activity for at least the next five years.
In this article:
Know More
Schwartz has recently warned that there could be a recession, telling Bloomberg TV that market uncertainty “is troubling because it stalls decision-making and chills activity.” As a result, Schwartz added, executives have started contingency planning, rather than planning for growth.
The Semafor View
European markets have suffered from a lack of competitiveness with the US and China, with just a handful of tech startups to come out of the continent. But countries everywhere are facing similar business challenges as they transition to cleaner energy and chase technological dominance.