Top economist Mohamed El-Erian says there’s a ‘new definition’ for a soft landing and argues ‘we can’t avoid a recession’

Mohamed El-Erian, president of Queens' College, Cambridge, at Bloomberg's fourth-annual Year Ahead Summit in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016. (Credit: Michael Nagle—Bloomberg/Getty Images)

Throughout 2022, Mohamed El-Erian has warned that the likelihood of a U.S. recession is “uncomfortably high.”

But this week, the economist—who serves as president of Queens’ College at the University of Cambridge—said that he fears a recession may now be inevitable if the Federal Reserve wants to reduce inflation to its 2% target.