Steve Schwarzman of Blackstone told CNBC that recessions provide a great opportunity to buy companies because prices come down.

Apollo founder Leon Black said on February 3 at the SuperReturn conference that large private-to-public deals could go "the way of the dodo".

Standard & Poor’s said on February 3 that based on reports released to date, the total earnings reported by companies in the S&P 500 could turn negative for the first time in the history of the index. Operating earnings, which exclude one-off losses and charges, would be the worst in a decade but still positive, S&P said, based on 244 company reports.