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As recession fears grow, the CEO of the world’s largest asset manager thinks one is already here — and he says he’s not alone.
“Most CEOs I talk to would say we are probably in a recession right now,” BlackRock (BLK+2.04%) CEO Larry Fink said at an event for the Economic Club of New York on Monday, in remarks reported by CNBC.
Fink referred to the airline industry as a “canary in the coal mine.”
“I was told that the canary is sick already,” he said.
Fink added that he thinks President Donald Trump’s tariff policies could make it difficult for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates as it usually does during recessions, which could exacerbate inflation.
“This notion that the Federal Reserve is going to ease four times this year, I see zero chance of that,” he said, according to CNBC (CMCSA+1.99%). “I’m much more worried that we could have elevated inflation that’s going to bring rates up much higher than they are today.”
BlackRock has more than $11 trillion in assets under management across private and public investments.
The S&P 500 is down 12.1% since March 7, while the Nasdaq Composite is down 14.1% during that same span.