Aditya Mittal thinks the global economy is strong as, well, steel. He's the chief financial officer of Arcelor Mittal, and he gave his outlook on the alloy industry to CNBC's Maria Bartiromo, on location in London.
The CFO of the world's No. 1 steel maker sees the strongest demand coming from the so-called BRIC nations: Brazil, Russia, China and India. But he told "Closing Bell" viewers that America looks fine, too: "We don't see any signs of recession" in the U.S., he said, adding that the "California loan crisis" and the subprime mortgage specter are "not impacting the broader market."
Mittal said that steel prices are up "significantly" compared to the first quarter, citing both commodity price rises -- "iron ore is up by 9.9% in 2007" -- and strong demand. And what's driving that demand? The finance chief pointed to "lots of liquidity," interest from capital markets and -- perhaps surprising to some -- "global peace."
