- Saudi Arabia to Double Total Refining Capacity by 2015
- Obama to Outline Strategy to Boost US Exports to Asia
- Friday May See 'Risk Trade' Stalling; Dollar in Focus
- Job Market Politics to Keep Interest Rates Low
- AIG, Symbol of Crisis, Watches Its Stock Zoom Back
- Cities With the Most Home Price Reductions
- Disney Profit, Sales Top Street Forecasts; Shares Jump
- Bill Gates Praises Apple's Jobs for 'Saving the Company'
- Is Euphoric Market Ignoring Warning Signs?
- EXCERPTS and IMAGES: Warren Buffett & Bill Gates - Keeping America Great
- Microsoft's Bill Gates Praises Apple's Steve Jobs For 'Saving the Company'
- Gold Is a Bad Inflation Hedge—Like Oil: Stock Picker
- Intel's Andy Bryant Offers An Explanation
- US 'Actively Working' on Weaker Dollar: Fund Manager
- Options Boil on Biotech Buyout Rumors
- Warren Buffett's $100,000 Offer and $500,000 Advice for Columbia Business School Students
- Activision Blizzard's "Modern Warfare 2" Sales Break Records
- 5-Star Manager's 5 Stocks for Changing Markets
MOST SHARED
- CNBC TRANSCRIPT: Warren Buffett & Bill Gates - Keeping America Great
- Pharma & Social Media
- Is Euphoric Market Ignoring Warning Signs?
- Microsoft's Bill Gates Praises Apple's Steve Jobs For 'Saving the Company'
- Disney Profit, Sales Top Street Forecasts; Shares Jump
- China Fourth Quarter Growth Could Hit 10%: Official
- Obama to Outline Strategy to Boost US Exports to Asia
- Warren Buffett and Bill Gates Share Their 'Optimism' With Eager Columbia Business Students
- Video Game Sales Plunge, but Have They Hit Bottom?
- Bain Finalizing $1.1 Billion Deal to Buy Citi's Bellsystem
Text Size 
The US economy will avoid recession as the housing market begins to recover this spring, according to billionaire investor Sam Zell.
Speaking on "Squawk Box" this morning, Zell attributed much of the current economic troubles to fear-mongering and politicking by Democratic presidential contenders Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.
"Obviously what we have going on is an attempt to create a self-fulfilling prophecy," said Zell, chairman of Equity Investments Group and owner of the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and other companies. "We have two Democratic candidates who are vying with each other to describe the economic situation worse.
"The reality is that if you live on Wall Street and you're in the credit markets the world couldn't be worse. If you're a farmer and you're getting $25 for your wheat, you're having a great time. If you're a CEO and you've got a balance sheet that's bullet-proof, you're in a great position. This whole thing is way out of control, way out of hand."
Zell said that although he doesn't try to pick bottoms in markets he believes housing has hit its nadir and will turn around this spring as inventory clears out.
As for the credit situation, he projected that once markdowns are out of the way banks will begin to regain their footing.
In the wide-ranging interview, Zell also voiced support for Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
"I think he should be renewed when his term is up. I think one of the positives of the United States is having people in the position of the Federal Reserve (chairman) for long periods of time," Zell said.
"I think Bernanke's reduction in interest rates has been spot-on, because basically we're going to fix the credit markets by creating a big enough spread between the risk-free cost of capital and what's available so that greed overtakes fear and the game begins again."):
Print
Email
- Warren Buffett and Bill Gates spoke to Columbia students, and Buffett made the students a startling offer.
- They may have wrecked their companies or saved our economy. Tell us what you think.
- Big pharma embraces social media, but how much should a tightly regulated sector say on Facebook or Twitter?
- A European dating site finds lovelorn singles from one country to be consistently uglier. Which is it?
- Contributor David Pogue looks at two of the latest efforts to perfect the digital pocket camera.
- PepsiCo is ramping up its onsite health facilities for workers.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes