David Rubenstein talks the economy, stock market, interest rates, the Fed, his new show and more

#economy #stockmarket #interestrates #fed
Yahoo Finance’s Executive Editor Brian Sozzi sat down for a wide-ranging interview with influential investor David Rubenstein, Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of the global private equity investment company The Carlyle Group (CG). They discussed the current state of the private equity market, the overall stock market, the economy, the direction of interest rates, and Rubenstein’s new television series on PBS called “Iconic America: Our Symbols and Stories with David Rubenstein” which premieres on April 26th at 10pmET. Rubenstein said the recent banking crisis and the resulting turmoil in the markets may have passed. “I think the federal government did a reasonably good job of patching up the problem once it arose,” he said. “We don't have a contagion problem as much as we might have thought we were going to have,” Rubenstein added. He also said the federal government may still have to step in again to shore other banks that may be in trouble. “I think First Republic Bank (FRC) is clearly on a watch list and probably somebody at some point will buy it… there's a big hole in the balance sheet of First Republic Bank I've been told. And therefore, I suspect the government will have to provide some assistance if that deal's going to get done,” Rubenstein said. On the direction of interest rates, Rubenstein said the Fed is very focussed on bringing down inflation despite the broader ramifications of those rate hikes. “I think the Fed is determined to get inflation down to 2%. Now, some would say maybe 3% would be low enough, but the Fed has said 2%, and as a result, they are tunnel-vision focused on getting that done. So there are side effects on that,” he said. Rubenstein also spoke about some of his investing regrets which included internet pioneer Netscape, and other big tech companies like Amazon (AMZN) and Facebook (META). “I had a chance to invest in Mark Zuckerberg's company when he was in Harvard, and he was looking for a little bit of money. My son-in-law told me about it and I passed on that. When Marc Andreessen was trying to raise money for Netscape, we told him that would never get anywhere. We turned that down,” Rubenstein said. On Amazon, he said he had an early stake in the company but “we sold it prematurely.”
Key video moments:
00:00:34 Is the banking crisis over?
00:04:22 Rubenstein on interest rates, the Fed
00:15:55 Rubenstein’s biggest investing ‘regrets’
00:17:30 Rubenstein’s advice for small investors
Subscribe to Yahoo Finance: yhoo.it/2fGu5Bb
About Yahoo Finance:
At Yahoo Finance, you get free stock quotes, up-to-date news, portfolio management resources, international market data, social interaction and mortgage rates that help you manage your financial life.
Yahoo Finance Plus: With a subscription to Yahoo Finance Plus get the tools you need to invest with confidence. Discover new opportunities with expert research and investment ideas backed by technical and fundamental analysis. Optimize your trades with advanced portfolio insights, fundamental analysis, enhanced charting, and more.
To learn more about Yahoo Finance Plus please visit: yhoo.it/33jXYBp
Connect with Yahoo Finance:
Get the latest news: yhoo.it/2fGu5Bb
Find Yahoo Finance on Facebook: bit.ly/2A9u5Zq
Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter: bit.ly/2LMgloP
Follow Yahoo Finance on Instagram: bit.ly/2LOpNYz
Follow Yahoo Finance Premium on Twitter: bit.ly/3hhcnmV