Business leaders warn Israel-Hamas war could threaten economic growth
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Global business leaders are warning that the Hamas-Israel war could spiral into wider uncertainty, threatening economic growth.
Driving the news: "If these things are not resolved, it probably means more global terrorism, which means more insecurity, which means more [of] society is going to be fearful, less hope," BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said on Tuesday, speaking at an investment forum in Saudi Arabia often dubbed "Davos in the Desert."
- "And when there's less hope, we see contractions in our economies," Fink added.
Zoom in: Tourism to the Middle East and insurance premiums on supply chain goods will be negatively impacted, Kristalina Georgieva, the head of the International Monetary Fund, said on a CNBC panel.
- Major trade arteries in the region, including the Suez Canal and the Strait of Hormuz, are also now at greater risk of being attacked if the war expands.
- Choking off those points would create "major disruption" to supply chains for energy and goods, Pat Thaker, director of the Middle East and Africa region at the Economist Intelligence Unit, told CNBC.
Zoom out: Geopolitical risks are weighing heavier on businesses than ever before, as Axios has reported.
- 36% of companies surveyed in July by Oxford Economics cited cross-border tensions as the top risk to the global economy over the next two years — surpassing financial crises, inflation and trade tensions.
What to watch: Earnings commentary that may reflect a rise in shaky business or consumer confidence.
- Snap said in its earnings yesterday that it had seen some advertisers pause campaigns "immediately following the onset of the war," Axios' Sara Fischer reports.
Go deeper: Axios Explains: Israel-Hamas war
