ARE we heading for a recession — and why?
Panic has gripped financial markets amid fears will trigger a global recession.
can often seem separate to everyday life and the real .
However, the flashing red lights of are a warning about investors’ views on the .
They have tanked because traders are betting will damage companies’ profits and make them unlikely to invest, hire or expand.
The knock-on will be , which will lead to weakened consumer confidence and depress spending.
Larry Fink, boss of Blackrock, the world’s biggest asset manager, suggested the US may already be in and said the economy was “weakening”;.
Analysts at Wall Street bank JP Morgan have estimated a 60 per cent chance of a global downturn while rival bank Goldman Sachs has started a “countdown to recession”; and given it a 45 per cent probability.
Shares in banks, including and , have plunged by levels not seen since the financial crisis.
Similarly, commodity prices including copper and oil have slumped by 15 per cent as investors bet on lower global demand in the event of a recession.
