Odaily News Alec Kersman, managing director and head of Asia Pacific at Pacific Investment Management Co. (PIMCO), said the likelihood of a U.S. recession this year has increased due to U.S. tariffs, and he estimated the probability to be 35%. This probability is higher than the 15% Pimco assessed in December last year. Despite this, Pimco's base case for the U.S. economy is for growth of 1% to 1.5%, although it is "significantly down" from previous expectations. Kamal Bhatia, president and CEO of Principal Asset Management, said such trade policies will boost domestic consumption and help the U.S. economy grow faster than expected. Consumer spending on goods and services accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. GDP. Bhatia said the increase in domestic spending caused by tariffs is "highly likely" to drive U.S. GDP to "perform better than expected." (Jinshi)