Concerns about the economy and stock market volatility will continue after Democrats take over the House in January, billionaire investor Marc Lasry said on CNBC on Tuesday.
“I think you’re seeing that nothing is going to get done,” the Avenue Capital co-founder said on “Fast Money Halftime Report,” shortly after President Donald Trump’s meeting with congressional leaders. “What you’re going to see in January is just problem after problem. And I think the market has started realizing that.”
In a remarkable brawl Tuesday in front of television cameras, the president, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer argued over immigration, government funding and November’s election results.
U.S. equities Tuesday fell to their lows of the day following the contentious fight. The major indexes swung between negative and positive throughout the day, ending with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing lower. Stocks have been under pressure on concerns of a possible economic slowdown and continued murkiness around trade relations with China.
Earlier this year, Lasry said the biggest threat to the U.S. stock market is Democrats taking control of the House from Republicans. At the time, he said a Democratic-controlled House could bring about further investigations on Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election and of collusion between Russia and Trump.
Avenue Capital, which specializes in investing in distressed debts, has more than $9 billion assets under management. In addition to running Avenue Capital as chairman and CEO, Lasry owns a stake in the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks.
— CNBC’s Jacob Pramuk contributed to this report.
