Billionaire investor warns of 'hard landing'

While attention in the US is focused on developments in the debt limit and inflation data, the effects of the Fed's path on economic activity continue to be discussed. According to billionaire investor Stan Druckenmiller, a 'hard landing' is possible in the US economy. Duquesne Family Office founder and billionaire investor Stan Druckenmiller announced that the US economy will start to slow down as of the current quarter and that he expects a hard landing. Making assessments at the 2023 Sohn Investment Conference on Tuesday, Druckenmiller stated that he brought his recession forecast to a closer date, pointing to a series of developments including the decline in retail sales and problems in regional banks. Druckenmiller, who said, "I don't foresee a worse picture than 2008," said, "I just think it's a very naive approach not to be open-minded about something very bad happening." Druckenmiller, who has a net worth of $9.9 billion and is among the world’s 500 richest people according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, defined a “hard landing” as an unemployment rate above 5 percent, a 20 percent drop in corporate profitability and increasing bankruptcies. According to Powell, avoiding a recession is more likely Fed Chair Jerome Powell has stated that it is possible for the US to experience what he hopes will be a mild recession, but that he sees avoiding a recession as more likely. Regarding the crisis of confidence in the banking sector resulting in tighter credit conditions, Powell commented, “Tighter credit conditions are likely to have an impact on economic activity, hiring and inflation.”