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Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The past 24 hours – with Jim Comey's testimony and the UK's snap election – are a cause for alarm to the founder of the world's largest hedge fund. The US and UK, in effect, are becoming dysfunctional, billionaire Ray Dalio said Friday in a statement posted to his LinkedIn page. "Over the last 24 hours we’ve seen developments in the US (pertaining to the issues surrounding Jim Comey's testimony) and the UK (concerning no UK party having a ruling majority and the threat of a left populist leader emerging)," said Dalio, who founded $150 billion Bridgewater Associates. "These developments entail the risk that political conflicts will lead to reduced government effectiveness in these two countries at especially challenging times." He added: "The trend toward conflict leading to greater dysfunctionality, leading to greater conflict, in a self-reinforcing way is increasingly apparent in the US and UK." "These conditions can reinforce emotional and antagonistic polarity ...and that can create a self-reinforcing downward spiral," he said. Dalio has been increasingly public in his views on politics over the past several months. Earlier this year, he launched a Twitter feed and has been known to increasingly post his musings, whether about news coverage of his hedge fund that he doesn't like or about support for Jim Comey, a former Bridgewater employee. Earlier this week, Dalio wrote about his concerns over President Trump choosing a small part of America over the world. Dalio and his $150 billion investment firm have speculated on Trump, and his implications for markets, for months, though those predictions haven't always played out. Last year, Bridgewater told clients on the day of the election that markets would slump if Trump were elected. (They have since rallied.) More recently, Bridgewater said stocks would drop if Trump were impeached, according to a client note reviewed by Business Insider. SEE ALSO: DALIO: Trump is putting a small part of America ahead of the entire world Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: HENRY BLODGET: Bitcoin could go to $1 million (or fall to $0) |
CoinDesk, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST Are headwinds or tailwinds for bitcoin's price in store? That depends on Washington's ability to reform corporate tax. |
Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein ribbed President Donald Trump on social media Friday, at the end of one of his administration's most challenging weeks. The Trump administration had intended to roll out its plans to revitalize US infrastructure — one of its biggest policy proposals after immigration and healthcare. The infrastructure rollout was seen by some as a counterpunch to the highly publicized Senate testimony of former FBI director James Comey, who appeared before lawmakers to give his account of the tumultuous months that led up to Trump firing him. The fallout to Comey's testimony was massive. "Just landed from China, trying to catch up.... How did "infrastructure week" go," Blankfein quipped on Twitter Friday afternoon. That followed another tweet Blankfein sent on Tuesday: "Arrived in China, as always impressed by condition of airport, roads, cell service, etc. US needs to invest in infrastructure to keep up!" Blankfein joined Twitter in 2011, but sent his first tweet just last week to rebuke Trump's decision to withdraw the US from the Paris climate agreement. Despite Republican Party plans to hit back at Comey's testimony, viewers in the US were nonetheless captivated. Comey's appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday drew in nearly 20 million viewers, according to Nielsen. Seemingly unfazed by Blankfein's tweet, Trump touted "infrastructure week" one more time, at 3:52 p.m. on Friday. SEE ALSO: TRUMP: Comey lied about what I said, and I'm '100%' willing to be questioned under oath about it Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: HENRY BLODGET: Bitcoin could go to $1 million (or fall to $0) |