Rick Wilking/Reuters
- The US debt is pushing the country toward a financial crisis, Leon Cooperman said.
- He criticized the Fed for its abrupt monetary policy shift after keeping rates low for over a decade.
- He's said that markets are overvalued and investors should expect a steep decline.
Mounting national debt is pushing the US toward a financial crisis, billionaire investor Leon Cooperman said this week.
The Omega Family Office CEO said that too little has been done since the 2010 Simpson-Bowles Commission, which was formed under President Barack Obama and proposed a series of long-term strategies to slash the national debt.
"I think we have a system of leadership in this country that's evolved to a leadership crisis," he told CNBC on Tuesday. "Deficits matter, and I think we're headed into a financial crisis in this country."
Cooperman said he gave the Federal Reserve a "low grade" in terms of how abruptly it shifted its monetary policy approach from holding rates at near zero for over a decade to raising rates by over 500 basis points in about a year.
"Now they're talking about cutting rates, and the Fed is too restrictive. There's no sign that I could tell from the economy and the market that the Fed is restrictive," he said, adding that there's a lot of speculation going on that has sent the stock market to record highs.
The billionaire investor has been consistently bearish. He said in February that the stock market seemed too richly valued and would eventually go down this year.