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Recession in the US 'has arrived'
BBC
Tuesday January 8, 2008
The feared recession in the US economy has already arrived,
according to a report from Merrill Lynch.
It said that Friday's employment report, which sent shares tumbling
worldwide, confirmed that the US is in the first month of a recession.
Its view is controversial, with banks such as Lehman Brothers
disagreeing.
But a reserve member of the committee that sets US rates warned
that it could do little about the below-trend growth expected
in the next six months.
"I am concerned that developments on the inflation front
will make the Fed's policy decisions more difficult in 2008,"
Charles Plosser, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
said.
(Article continues below)
He was referring to the problems faced by the US Federal Reserve,
which might want to cut interest rates to avoid a recession, but
is worried about inflationary factors such as $100-a-barrel oil.
'Significant decline'
An official ruling on whether the US is in recession is made
by the National Bureau of Economic Research, but this decision
may not come for two years.
The NBER defines a recession as "a significant decline in
economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than
a few months".
Full
article here.
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INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
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