Political risks dominated a recent Credit Suisse investor conference in New York, as six out of ten attendees said the US will crash into recession before 2014.

Other issues on the agenda were euro break-up fears, the possibility of a Chinese hard landing, turmoil in the Middle East, the near-zero interest rates environment in the developed world, sovereign debt and the dire outlook for global economic growth.

The Swiss bank said the focus on short-term political challenges is leading to a more-bearish-than-usual outlook for stocks, with six out of ten of respondents quoting equities as their preferred asset class over the next 12 months compared with nearly 90 per cent who prefer equities over the next decade.

Over the next 10 years, 29 per cent of the respondents believe that Europe will provide the best risky asset returns, and as many think the best returns will come from emerging markets excluding China.

Out of the 250 attendees, who represented banks, hedge funds, money managers, insurers and other financial services firms, 69 per cent believe the first interest rates hike in the US will happen in 2014.

Seventy per cent cited fiscal reform as the top priority. Only 3 per cent, however, expect the US government to effectively tackle fiscal issues by the end of next year.

One in four think Greece will leave the euro and one third that it will happen this year.

The first global macro investors conference by Credit Suisse was held in 2010.