Worry Over Impending U.S. Recession Might Actually Cause One

Concern about when a near-historic U.S. economic expansion might end could actually hasten the arrival of the next recession, according to J.P. Morgan Chase Co-President Gordon Smith. “This late-cycle recession has the potential to become a self-fulfilling prophecy,” Smith said Tuesday during a financial conference held in New York. “There is a great deal of volatility in the equity markets, a great deal of conversation around how late we are in the cycle and worry about the cycle,” Smith said. “That will ultimately lead to business confidence deteriorating, it will ultimately lead to [corporate] reductions in spending, that will ultimately lead to a shorter work week for hourly-paid people, which will ultimately lead to unemployment beginning to rise, and we would’ve developed our own recession.” Read more at CNBC.