Fox Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo warns a global economic “slowdown is on the horizon” due to downturns in Europe and China, as well as “higher interest rates, a lower housing sector and uncertainties in Washington.”
“I don’t think so,” Bartiromo said when asked if she thinks a recession is coming in the next year. “But I do expect a slowdown on the horizon. Europe is falling apart in some corners, China is slowing — these things do not happen in a vacuum.”
{mosads}”Also, the U.S. is facing higher interest rates, a lower housing sector and uncertainties in Washington because of policy changes as well as the political attacks and the vitriol,” the “Mornings with Maria” anchor added.
Economic worries have spiked recently as stocks have plunged ahead of a possible government shutdown and likely Federal Reserve rate hikes.
Bartiromo’s comments came in an interview with The Hill, where the former CNBC and CNN reporter and host explained why she said the global economy will have a direct impact on the U.S. economy.
Bartiromo’s current morning program, which launched in 2015 after she moved to Fox Business in 2013 following 20 years with CNBC, topped her former CNBC show “Squawk Box” in total viewers for the first time in 2018, averaging 105,000 total viewers to CNBC’s 103,000. It still trails in the coveted 25-54 demographic, however, with “Squawk Box” delivering 28,000 viewers in the category compared to 14,000 for the Fox Business offering.
Bartiromo said she believes one reason for her success against her former employer is that the content model that drove CNBC to ratings highs in the ’90s no longer applies in 2018, because “people care less about the ‘whisper number on earnings,’ and more about the long term.”
“The show is resonating because people want to understand the policies coming out of Congress and the Trump administration and understand how all of this impacts their lives and their families,” the 51-year-old New York University graduate explains.
Overall, Fox Business registered four of the top five rated business network programs in 2018, with “Lou Dobbs Tonight” leading the way with an average of 345,000 viewers per night.
CNBC still topped Fox Business in the 25–54 demographic during the business day with an average of 32,000 viewers to Fox Business’s 25,000.
CNBC was founded in 1989, while Fox Business launched in 2007.
–Updated at 9:47 a.m.