Markets will have 'severe problems' if Congress can't reach stimulus deal by mid next week, says Guggenheim's Minerd
- Guggenheim's Minerd said he believes markets will have "severe problems" if Congress can't reach a deal on next stimulus.
- Minerd said that unemployment will rise if policy adjustments aren't made.
- The chief investment officer said now is a particularly vulnerable time of year for equities.
- Read more on Business Insider.
Scott Minerd, chief investment officer of Guggenheim Investments, told Bloomberg on Wednesday that the markets will start to have "severe problems" if Congress can't reach a deal on a new coronavirus relief package by the middle of next week.
When asked on Tuesday on "CBS This Morning" if Democrats and Republicans could reach a deal before the end of next week, Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer said, "I hope so, and that's what we're working for. We'll sit down. We're going to sit down again today. We'll sit down 24/7."
Minerd also said that a delay in the bill could harm the economy. "If Congress doesn't get its act together quickly I think this could be a pretty severe increase in unemployment if policy adjustments aren't made," he said.
Minerd said the rollback of reopening plans in certain states is worrisome for unemployment, and he'll be looking very closely on Thursday at the continuing claims report. The report shows the aggregate total of people receiving unemployment benefits, which totaled 16.2 million for the week that ended July 11.
Minerd added, "We are in a particularly vulnerable time of the year for risk assets, especially equities ... markets could easily get rattled here, and we could see some severe downside for stocks."