Greenspan sees a third chance of US Recession

After rattling global investors last week with his remarks of a "probable" recession this year in the US, former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan on Tuesday said he saw a "one-third probability" of a downturn in the world's largest economy this year.

"We are in the sixth year of a recovery; imbalances can emerge as a result," the 81-year-old Greenspan said in an interview to Bloomberg News. He said he was surprised by the market reaction to comments he made on Feb. 26 on the possibility of a recession in the US.

"It is possible that we can have a recession at the end of this year," said Greenspan, who headed the American central bank for 18 years until January 2006.

The interesting part is that the current Fed chief, Ben S. Bernanke disagrees with Greenspan's recession theory. In a speech to the Congress last week, Bernanke, 53, said that the economy may strengthen this year.