Citadel's Griffin says Fed's first rate cut may come in December

By Carolina Mandl

Beverly Hills (Reuters) - Ken Griffin, Citadel's founder and chief executive, said on Monday that he is unsure when the Federal Reserve may be able to cut interest rates this year, but it may come in December.

Speaking at the Milken conference, Griffin said two factors may make it more difficult for the Fed to cut rates soon: stickier inflation in services and the U.S. presidential elections in November.

Griffin said inflation may ease around the election period, but that could make the Fed more afraid of cutting rates then because it could be interpreted as a political move. In that case, the Fed would leave its first move for December.

"Big picture, we're making the right call by being more hesitant to cut rates," he told the audience.

Griffin declined to declare his support for a specific candidate in the presidential election -- in which Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican former President Donald Trump face a rematch -- but he said names being thrown around for Trump's cabinet are "really good."

The hedge fund founder, who has donated more than half a billion dollars to Harvard University, said he continues with his decision taken in January to halt donations to the school over how it handled antisemitism on campus.

Griffin's comments come as students have protested at dozens of universities across the country against Israel's war on Gaza.

"The failure of the education system is what you're seeing play out on the campuses of the Ivy League schools," he said.

(Reporting by Carolina Mandl in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler)