Billionaire investor Griffin says US dollar has lost some shine

By David French

WEST PALM BEACH, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Ken Griffin said on Tuesday that he believed the U.S. dollar had lost some of its luster with investors in the last 12 months.

The greenback has faced recent wobbles, including slumping to a four-year low last week, as investors fretted about numerous factors including volatile fiscal policy and expectations for further Federal Reserve rate cuts.

When asked about a challenge to the dollar's primacy at the WSJ Invest Live event in West Palm Beach, Florida, the founder of investment firm Citadel said while the United States continued to be "one of the great safe harbors in the world," and was asserting its geopolitical strength in many positive ways, the currency had been impacted.

"Policies relating to tariffs, some of the rhetoric from the administration, have taken some of the shine off of the dollar," he said.

In a wide-ranging interview, Griffin said there needed to be an increase in fiscal discipline, including the paying down of government borrowing that fueled pandemic-era spending. On the U.S. labor market, he noted that conditions were "reasonably robust" and that some of the hoarding of employees that took place in the wake of Covid-19 was starting to unwind.

On whether advances in artificial intelligence were driving some of these job cuts though, Griffin argued that while the technology was getting some of the blame, businesses were yet to see the productivity gains from AI that would trigger layoffs.

POLITICS AND POLITICAL MUSINGS

Griffin applauded the naming of Kevin Warsh as the next chair of the Federal Reserve, as well as President Donald Trump's process for choosing who would run the U.S. central bank.

"The choice by the president here is a powerful assertion that the Fed will maintain needed independence in policy decision-making," he said.

The Citadel head was less complimentary though of some of the business dealings undertaken by the president and his family while Trump has been in office.

"One of the things that you want to believe is that those who serve the public interest have the public interest at heart in everything they do," Griffin said, when asked about overseas investments into Trump crypto ventures.

"And, I think, that this administration has definitely made missteps in choosing decisions or courses that have been very, very enriching to the families of those in the administration."

He was also wary of the U.S. government playing a more active role in the economy, including buying stakes in companies when America has an "incredible venture capital community." He added that government involvement risked CEOs "having to, in some sense, suck up to one administration after another."

Griffin added that while he was focused on Citadel, and that his position had given him an opportunity to provide input into policy decisions made by administrations of both parties, he could be open to running for political office.

"I like to believe that, at a future point in my life, I will be involved in public service," he said.