Billionaire investor and Omega Advisors CEO Leon Cooperman said the U.S. could enter a recession at some point next year, bringing the stock market lower and challenging Wall Street's bullish view of the AI-driven rally. He compared current enthusiasm for AI and technology shares with the Nifty Fifty bubble of the late 1960s and early 1970s, when an oil shock and surging inflation battered highly valued growth stocks. Brent crude traded around $89 a barrel on the 17th, roughly 22% above its level before the outbreak of the Iran war, while U.S. retail sales fell 0.6% in July against expectations for a 0.1% increase. Cooperman said he is avoiding technology stocks and warned that widespread long positioning could amplify a selloff if a negative catalyst appears. The outlook contrasts with FactSet's expectation for more than 50% year-over-year earnings growth at S&P 500 companies this quarter, an Atlanta Federal Reserve estimate of 4.3% third-quarter GDP growth and a 19% gain in the Nasdaq 100 this year. Bond markets are adding another risk: The 30-year Treasury yield reached 5.33% intraday on the 19th, its highest level since June 2007, and BTIG strategist Jonathan Krinsky said it could approach 6%. Rapidly rising yields can draw capital from equities and lower the present value of future corporate earnings, although higher yields have not always resulted in falling stock prices.