J.P. Morgan CEO letter to shareholders has negative remarks about Arab Spring

The annual report of J.P. Morgan to shareholders can be found here. It is written by Jamie Dimon the chief executive officer (CEO).

Dimon notes the economic uncertainty clouding the economic future. He also notes events that have impeded economic recovery such as the tsunami and earthquake in Japan and the European debt crisis.

However, he also mentions revolutions in the Middle East, the Arab Spring. He speaks of all of these as tragic events and unfortunate setbacks.

Even if one construes Dimon as referring to the Arab Spring events as tragic setbacks this seems unduly negative. While it is true that in purely economic terms such as growth in GDP these did involve lesser growth than might have happened under the regime of Mubarak or in Tunisia, surely the overall political effects were positive enough to outweigh the economic consequences.

Perhaps the Arab Spring caused an unfortunate rise in oil prices as well but this also is hardly reason to describe the changes brought about as unfortunate. Perhaps if democratic change hurts capital then it is a tragic setback. For more see this article.