Fiscal Cliff Risks U.S. Recession, BlackRock’s Chief Says

BlackRock Inc. Chief Executive Officer Laurence D. Fink said the U.S. economy may shrink at the start of 2013 as companies curb hiring ahead of spending cuts and tax increases from the so-called fiscal cliff.

Business confidence is waning amid the federal gridlock on paring the deficit to avert more than $600 billion in automatic budget reductions and higher taxes on Jan. 1, Fink said today at a Bloomberg Television roundtable on the U.S. debt. Congress also must act in February to raise the debt ceiling, he said.