'The Cold War is back' — Jamie Dimon says Russia's war on Ukraine is a bigger risk to the global economy than higher rates

• Jamie Dimon thinks the war in Ukraine is a bigger threat to the global economy than higher rates.
• "The Cold War is back," the CEO of JPMorgan Chase told Bloomberg TV Wednesday.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said Wednesday that markets should prepare for the war in Ukraine to last years and warned it poses a bigger risk to the global economy than higher interest rates do.

The comments come as the Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise benchmark rates by half a percentage point this afternoon, marking its biggest increase in more than 20 years. That would follow a quarter-point increase in March, though Dimon said in an interview on Bloomberg TV the Fed was "a little late" on tightening.

But he added that rising rates and a growth slowdown are "not a disaster for the world economy — I think the potential outcomes in Ukraine are."

Drawing a parallel between today's conflict and the decades-long struggle between the US and Soviet Union, Dimon said Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent fallout are reminders that national security will always be the most important issue.

"The Cold War is back," he said. "The allies have to coalesce not just for military purposes but for global, economic, strategic investment purposes."

Dimon noted the unpredictability of previous conflicts like Vietnam and Afghanistan, which both ran much longer than originally predicted.

He also said "China can't possibly like" the war, noting how much more trade it does with the West than with Russia.

"I think they're caught between a rock and a hard place. They have this so-called ally who's putting them in a difficult place."