Stephen Schwarzman, chairperson and CEO of Blackstone Group, said in an interview in Tokyo on Wednesday that the United States is likely to avoid a recession regardless of who wins the presidential election because both candidates have policy proposals to attract economic growth. Schwarzman said he believes the environment for trading and exiting investments is improving as U.S. interest rates are likely to continue to fall. "It's really a matter of interest rates and economic growth," he said. "Interest rates will continue to fall, which will provide the impetus for more buying and selling transactions." (Kim Ten)