US Markets

Falling asset prices could cause recession: Boockvar

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Investors could be heading into another recession caused by falling asset prices, analyst Peter Boockvar said Monday.

"Before the late '90s, a recession would then cause a bear market, but the last two recessions were caused by declines in asset prices. I'm afraid this is going to be the same thing the third time," the Lindsey Group's chief market analyst told CNBC's "Squawk Box."

The last two recessions occurred between December 2007 and June 2009 following the subprime mortgage and financial crises, and in 2001 following the dotcom bubble.

Boockvar made his comments on the final day of one of the most volatile months for stocks on record. While the major U.S. averages ended last week positive, the Dow, and Nasdaq are tracking for their worst month since May 2012, rocked by concerns over fallout from a slowdown in China.

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The United States is stuck in a cycle in which economic disruptions occur once inflated asset prices revert to a mean, Boockvar said. He blamed former Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan for creating an "asset-dependent economy."

Boockvar said he believed the same thing could happen again.

The Fed has kept its benchmark interest rate near zero since December 2008, helping to fuel a six-year bull market by encouraging investors to put their money in riskier assets like stocks, rather than low-yielding bonds.

If the stock market continues to fall, Boockvar said, it will have a spillover effect into consumer spending, especially among wealthy Americans.

"If you're a CEO, a CFO, and you see the market down, well, that may give you pause. If you're a consumer at the upper end, well, your portfolio just took a hit. That's going to make you reassess what kind of spending you want to do," he said.