FedEx CEO warns of a looming ‘worldwide recession’

(NewsNation) — Stocks fell broadly on Wall Street Friday, responding in part to FedEx’s warning of a “worldwide recession,” as well as the company’s disappointing earnings.

FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam told CNBC’s Jim Cramer that he believes a global recession lies ahead based on his company’s metrics on the network’s show “Mad Money.”

“The weekly numbers are not looking so good, so we just assume at this point that the economic conditions are not really good,” Subramaniam said.

It’s news that sent shock waves through the markets Friday morning.

“Global volumes declined as macroeconomic trends significantly worsened later in the quarter, both internationally and in the U.S.,” Subramaniam said in a statement.

The company anticipated increased demand after factories shut down in China because of COVID-19 started to open back up. However, it actually fell, CNBC reported.

“While this performance is disappointing, we are aggressively accelerating cost reduction efforts,” Subramaniam said.

The company, CNBC reported, has seen weekly declines since around its investor day in June, according to Subramaniam.

Cost-reduction efforts have included closing 90 office locations, deterring hiring efforts and canceling projects.

In light of this, FedEx shares plummeted by as much as 23%.

Discouraging news also came from General Electric, which fell 4.6% after its chief financial officer said the company is still bogged down by supply chain issues.

This all comes as the Federal Reserve is widely expected to announce a third-straight 75 basis-point interest rate hike next week.

Additionally, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate is now more than 6% for the first time since 2008 — nearly double what it was nine months ago, according to Freddy Mac.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.