Jamie Dimon said the U.S. economy is strong, but cited war and inflation risks

JPMorgan $JPM Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said the U.S. economy is strong, pointing to healthy company earnings, scant joblessness and modest borrowing by both businesses and households, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Dimon made the remarks in an interview with the WSJ Leadership Institute's Alan Murray. "It's good times," he said.

Dimon also named risks to the outlook: unpredictable overseas conflicts, hefty government budget shortfalls and upward pressure on prices. On inflation, he said: "It's been there for five years, folks. It's sticky."

Asked about a possible downturn, Dimon said it is difficult to predict either what might trigger one or its timing. He said JPMorgan "analyzes to death" the dangers it might face, which keeps the bank ready.

"Eventually there'll be a downturn. Eventually it'll be driven by a confluence of events that today you can't guess what they are. You can throw stuff on the wall and make believe you know," Dimon said.

The Commerce Department revised its second-quarter GDP growth figure, on an annualized basis, up to 2.2% from 1.5%. The increase reflected higher investment, with the continuing construction of data centers playing a part, according to The Wall Street Journal.

In that same appearance, Dimon said he was hopeful price pressures would cool but warned "there's a chance it won't, and it may even go up a little bit." He said the Federal Reserve should defend its 2% inflation target.

At that event, he also said simultaneous capital demands from infrastructure projects, defense spending and persistent government deficits were pushing interest rates up. He said there “may be a market correction,” though he was uncertain whether AI spending would be the trigger.