ベゾス氏、米国経済への悲痛な警告を発する

Bezos issues dire warning for US economy
Americans should brace for a painful downturn, the billionaire has said
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has warned that the US economy may be headed for a recession as surging inflation is causing too much pain.

He expressed this view while retweeting a CNBC interview with Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon on Tuesday in which the banker warned that he saw a “good chance” of a recession in the US and advised business owners to be cautious and prepare for more market volatility as growth headwinds mount.

“Yep, the probabilities in this economy tell you to batten down the hatches,” Bezos wrote on Twitter in response.

The billionaire has joined a growing chorus of leading investors, executives, and analysts – including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon – who are sounding the alarm over what lies in store for the US economy.

Economists say that inflation remains a persistent problem for the US economy. The current inflation rate of 8.2% is the highest since 1981. Meanwhile, the core US consumer price index (CPI), which excludes food and energy, rose by a record 6.6% year-to-date through September, according to official data released earlier this month.

Earlier this year, Bezos blamed the Biden administration for trying to mislead Americans about inflation, arguing that increasing taxes on corporations and the wealthy wouldn't reduce consumer costs. He also expressed the belief that the actual reason for inflation was the stimulus policies of the White House, which saw money being injected “into an already over-heated, inflationary economy.”

アメリカ人は痛みを伴う景気後退に備えるべきだと、億万長者は述べている。
アマゾン創業者のジェフ・ベゾス氏は、急増するインフレがあまりに大きな痛みをもたらしているため、米国経済は不況に向かうかもしれないと警告している。

ベゾス氏は、ゴールドマン・サックス証券CEOのデビッド・ソロモン氏が火曜日に行ったCNBCのインタビューをリツイートする中で、この見解を示した。このインタビューでは、同銀行家が米国で景気後退が起こる「良い可能性」があると警告し、企業経営者に対して、成長の逆風が強くなるにつれ、市場の変動が大きくなることに備え、慎重になるように助言している。

ベゾス氏はこれに対し、ツイッターで「そうだ、この経済の確率は、屋根の下敷きになれと言っている」と書き込んだ。

この億万長者は、JPモルガン・チェースのジェイミー・ダイモンCEOをはじめ、米国経済の先行きに警鐘を鳴らす有力投資家、経営者、アナリストの大合唱に加わっている。

エコノミストによれば、インフレは依然として米国経済にとって根強い問題である。現在のインフレ率8.2%は1981年以来最も高い。一方、今月初めに発表された公式データによると、食品とエネルギーを除いた米国のコア消費者物価指数（CPI）は、9月までの累計で6.6％の上昇を記録している。

今年初め、ベゾスはバイデン政権がインフレについてアメリカ人に誤解を与えようとしていると非難し、企業や富裕層への増税は消費者コストを下げないだろうと主張した。また、インフレの実際の原因は、ホワイトハウスの景気刺激策にあるとの考えを示した。"すでに過熱したインフレ経済に資金が注入されている "と見たのである。

US issues bleak economic data
The core US consumer price index (CPI), which excludes food and energy, rose 6.6% in the year through September, marking its highest level since 1982, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.

Data released on Thursday shows that the overall CPI rose 0.4% in September compared to August, twice the 0.2% projected by analysts even as the annual rate slowed slightly to 8.2% from 8.3%.

The core index is viewed as a better tracker of underlying inflation pressures, since food and energy costs can whipsaw from month to month.

The report indicated that gas and food inflation has generally eased up from levels seen earlier this year. Meanwhile shelter costs led the way, with the related index climbing 0.7% through the month.

Transportation services saw prices jump 1.9% last month, notching the largest one-month increase across core CPI components. They were followed by rising costs for medical services.

Economists say the report signals that inflation is a persistent problem even amid large interest-rate hikes from the US Federal Reserve. It will determine how further the regulator will push with its aggressive tightening and keep rates high until there are signs that inflation is cooling off.

US stocks briefly nosedived following the inflation report but later recovered from the early-session drops.