The billionaire investor George Soros has said it will be "very difficult to avoid" recessions in the US and the UK.
Mr Soros has famously profited from previous economic crises
In an interview with BBC News, Mr Soros said he supported the US Federal Reserve's surprise interest rate cut, which bolstered global stock indexes.
"You do have to rescue markets otherwise you would go into a depression, as you did in the 1930s."
He also said that the current market turmoil is a sign of global influence shifting to the developing world.
'Shift of power'
"I'm not looking for a worldwide recession," he said.
"I'm looking for a significant shift of power and influence away from the US in particular and a shift in favour of the developing world, particularly China."
He added that authorities have trusted markets too much over the past 20 years.
"The authorities came to rely on the markets to right themselves," he said.
"But they ought to have known better because they have in the past come to the rescue."
Mr Soros was the man reported to have made $1bn profit in September 1992, betting correctly that the British currency would have to be devalued and leave the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.