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Billionaire Sam Zell Says Recession Likely in Next 12 Months

  • Fed rate hike should have happened six months ago, he says
  • Investor seeking opportunities to buy distressed energy assets

Sam Zell: Fed Rate Hike is Six-Eight Months Too Late

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Billionaire investor Sam Zell said the U.S. economy could go into a recession in the next year and that an expected Federal Reserve interest-rate increase is coming at least six months too late.

The central bank has been too cautious and the economy would already be adjusting if it raised rates six to nine months ago, giving Chair Janet Yellen “more room if a recession is on the way,” Zell said Wednesday in an interview on Bloomberg Television. Multinational companies are laying off workers, global trade is slowing and there’s a possibility China’s economy will falter, he said.