Soros: U.S. Recession likely, Global Recession Unlikely

[Dennis Ng]

Jan. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Billionaire investor George Soros said a U.S. recession is all but certain as lenders and investors stop the flow of credit, while the global economy probably will avoid contraction.

``I think it is almost inevitable that the turmoil in the financial markets will affect the real economy,'' Soros, 77, said today in a Bloomberg Television interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. ``I don't expect a global recession,'' said Soros, founder of New York-based hedge-fund firm Soros Fund Management LLC, which has $17 billion in assets.

The U.S. Federal Reserve, which yesterday announced its first emergency rate cut since 2001 in an effort to calm U.S. recession worries, is ``doing the right thing, lowering interest rates,'' just not quickly enough, Soros said.

``I think the Fed is well behind the curve, and has been reacting instead of being proactive,'' he said, adding that the primary blame lies with former Chairman Alan Greenspan.

``Alan Greenspan mishandled it by keeping interest rates too low too long and also ignoring dangers in the housing market,'' Soros said.