What corporate America is worried about

Brian Sozzi

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Big ideas, bold actions.

That was the theme of Yahoo Finance's Invest conference that happened live on Tuesday in New York City. The packed house indeed got access to big ideas, and also bold actions. Especially by the likes of "Bond King" Jeffrey Gundlach at DoubleLine.

"The Magnificent Seven obviously will be the worst performer in the upcoming recession," Gundlach told me at the event, pointing to potential looming weakness in 2024 in favored stocks like Apple, Nvidia, and Microsoft.

"Whatever is leading the charge going into the economic downturn invariably must lead the charge on the way down. I would get out of them," Gundlach added. "I would go into an equal-weighted basket as opposed to a market-weighted basket."

In case you didn't get Gundlach's message, he is concerned about the economic outlook.

And so are consumers, as seen in a revealing new Yahoo Finance poll unveiled at the event by our Senior Columnist Rick Newman.

However, the C-suite was cautiously optimistic about 2024 overall — not too jazzed up, not too gloomy. And while there was targeted optimism (Candle Media's CEO Kevin Mayer, an adviser to Disney CEO Bob Iger, seemed optimistic on Iger turning around Disney), business's heavy hitters levied some specific concerns throughout the day.

Here's a check-in on the vibe in the C-suite as 2023 draws to a close...

Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano on higher interest rates and real estate

"I think it's less about the elevated interest rate environment and a little more about expectations on the retail sector, that there will be increasing liquidity requirements on lenders. I am worried about the office sector and I am worried about the retail sector."

DoubleLine founder & CEO Jeffrey Gundlach on the economy

"We have a lot of major indicators that have been in recessionary signaling for a year plus. And so I think the Fed has stopped raising interest rates. I don't think they will do it again. That is clearly the message from the bond market. The thing that worries me the most is the concept of higher-for-longer rates. And not so much for the economy. But because once the economy starts to noticeably weaken, it seems like is almost happening in real time, the Fed will cut interest rates."

AT&T CEO John Stankey on the deficit

"I think it's [the deficit] a problem today. I don't think it's a problem 30 years from now. What a day reckoning is constituted by, I don't know that we can pick a day and say things are going to trip. I think the day of reckoning is we'll end up in a prolonged period of sub-optimal growth. You can even go a step further and say if you don't get your fiscal house in order, does it challenge your ability to grow the economy fast enough to be able to things to have influence outside the US and make sure the world stays safe."

Economist Nouriel Roubini on the Fed's actions

"The question is whether the economy will have a soft landing where you go back to 2% inflation without any recession, or whether there would be a soft-ish, bumpy landing with 2% inflation and you will have a short and shallow recession. I would say the jury is still out on that. The economy right now looks like in the direction of a soft landing, but interest rates are higher and higher for longer slows the economy down."

See the latest coverage from Yahoo Finance's Invest event:

Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn. Tips on deals, mergers, activist situations, or anything else? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.

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