Investors worry about Fed hurting growth, even theorize over next recession

Laser-focused on how aggressive the Federal Reserve will be in tightening policy, some U.S. investors and strategists are starting to worry about what may seem a distant threat: a sharp economic slowdown or even the next recession.
 

Investors have been unnerved in recent days about the potential for a more hawkish Fed than previously expected. Some are concerned an aggressive interest-rate-hiking cycle, combined with a reversal of the U.S. central bank's bond-buying program, could cause too sharp a slowdown.

A hawkish stance by the Fed, which concludes its latest two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, has pushed up short-term rates, flattening