Adam Posen, a former member of the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, said in a speech this week,"We may or may not fall into recession, but we will face inflation anyway," the Internet reported. Posen, who is currently director of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, has considerable influence and puts the probability of a recession at 65%. As for the Federal Reserve, Posen believes that it has cut interest rates too much given the still high inflation level. Once prices start to rise again, the Fed may not be able to keep up with the pace of change. As a result, the Fed could be forced to raise interest rates quickly and sharply, putting additional pressure on the economy. If all of this comes true, Posen said, repairing the damage could take years or more.