Of course, most of us already knew this:
The US has entered its first full-blown economic recession in 16 years, according to investment bank Merrill Lynch.
Merrill, itself one of Wall Street’s biggest casualties of the sub-prime crisis, is the first major bank to declare that a recession in the world’s biggest economy is now underway.
David Rosenberg, the bank’s chief North American economist, argues that a weakening employment picture and declining retail sales signal the economy has tipped into its first month of recession.
Mr Rosenberg, who is well-respected on Wall Street, argues: “According to our analysis, this (recession) isn’t even a forecast any more but is a present day reality.”
[...] Mr Rosenberg points to a whole batch of negative data to support his analysis, including the four key barometers used by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NEBR) - employment, real personal income, industrial production, and real sales activity in retail and manufacturing.
Mr Rosenberg notes that although the NEBR will be the final arbiter of any recession, such confirmation may be two years away as it typically waits for conclusive evidence including benchmark revisions.
Merrill Lynch agreed to a retirement package with its embattled Chairman and chief executive Stan O’Neal less than a week after the company posted its biggest quarterly loss ever, giving him $161.5 million in stock and benefits, but no bonus for 2007.
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A miserable hundred and sixty one million dollars? Wow, we are in a recession.
This recession means that GWB will have to cancel the
2008 elections in the interests of national security.