In an wide ranging interview with Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer, Blackstone Chairman and CEO Stephen Schwarzman voiced his support for raising the minimum wage, says that the U.S. and China will reach a trade agreement in ‘the next two months,’ and that global growth has softened, but no recessions are expected in U.S. and China.
Schwarzman voices support for raising minimum wage, says U.S.-China will reach a trade agreement in ‘the next two months’
Stephen Schwarzman joins Influencers with Andy Serwer
Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer sits down with Stephen Schwarzman, Chairman and CEO of Blackstone Group.
Q1 hedge fund letters, conference, scoops etc
Transcript
Does that mean increasing the minimum wage for instance. I think it does. I said You're right. What happens if you would do that is you're not just increasing the minimum wage minimum wage only applies to 15 percent of the people in the country. But if you did something in that area that that it will force up. The income for other people in that company in effect that's a tax on the business community isn't it. Right. And the only reason you would want to accept such a tax is if you actually got a result. And and you have to have proof if you will. Not have a concept in general but how are we going to go from number 35 back up towards number one. Right. I think you might be surprised that if you could make that proof make that argument have that plan. That people would say.
We got to do something. What do you think of the trade dispute and how do you think it's going to get resolved.
Well I think the trade resolved trade issues will result in a trade agreement. You know in the next two months because both countries think that's important. How he got there is non-traditional. Virtually every other president I in my lifetime since China was opened by Nixon and Kissinger and I guess it was 1972 three has failed. Every one of them. And we're not going to fail this time. We will not get an agreement that covers every issue that that would be our ask. This is a start. And as China gets more wealthy it'll be easier for them to change as China manufactures their own intellectual capital. They will want to protect it. And so I think what we're going to have is a very good start. But but you won't get 100 percent of what some people would say well we should get all that. And you're dealing with with with a society structure that doesn't do any of that pretty much. And so they'll think they've gone far will think they've made progress but it's a start. And so like most things in American politics you will have some divisiveness of that. But I think what's happened is global growth has has softened for sure. You know China is not as soft as you think. And that was reported. Oh surprise surprise. You know they've stimulated their economy and they're not collapsing. They'll probably grow around six. If you think they aren't performing reporting accurately wherever they were is not going down anymore it's starting to come up. The US will be. I don't know. Two and a quarter two and a half. And it's Europe. Ironically that's really the problem that Europe is 25 percent why is that ironic. Well they're so big. Oh I see. I mean China is around 15 percent of the world economy. Europe's 25 U.S. is around 23. And to have the biggest engine in the world that nobody talks about. Everybody talks about the United States. Everybody talks about China hardly anybody talks about Europe and Europe is you know sort of an.
I don't know whether it's no man of Europe is Europe. Yes. Yes.
And so that's what you know we're having a slowing but but we're not certainly in the US certainly in China. You know we're not having recessions.
