Mubasher: The possibility of US’s economy entering a recession in the coming year rose to 20% from 15%, according to Bank of America/Merrill Lynch (BAML).

A repeat of the 2008-2009 great recession "is a big stretch" and even the chance of a normal recession remains low, yet economists lower their 2016 growth forecast from 2.5% to 2.1%.

"We cannot rule out a recession in the next year," economists Ethan Harris and Emanuella Enenajor said in a note, adding that “Accidents will happen, and we are concerned about the lack of policy ammunition to deal with a major shock.”

The BAML’s report said that the world stock market losses are nearing $8 trillion so far in 2016, and investors pumped investments into government bond funds in a year last week.

Global stocks lost $7.8 trillion in the three weeks to January 21, reflecting the increasingly bearish sentiment in world markets, added the report.