Are we in a recession yet? Hmm!
Perhaps the economist are confused about what the definition of a recession is, but it has felt like one in any people’s personal economy since the beginning of the year. Finally, the talking heads, are acknowledging that we “may” really be in one. What?
Anyway the DOW falls below 8000 for the first time in 5 years. Keep in mind that in September 2002, the index closed at 7592 which was 6 years ago. Are we headed in that direction? How fast. After that, at 7539 which was the low in August 1998, we will see lows posted that we haven’t seen in X years. Here is an iPhone screenshot of the result.
Here are a few excerpts from MSNMoney explaining the losses yesterday. The entire article written by Charlie Blaine and Elisabeth Strott can be found — HERE.
Today’s selloff reflected three forces at work:
- A sharp decline in financial stocks. That was, in part, a show of investor unhappiness that the Treasury Department has junked its plan to take over the troubled assets of a number of financial institutions.
- Increasing worries that the recession will be much worse than anyone thought, with deflation problems growing. The Federal Reserve issued new projections today showing unemployment could jump well above 7% next year. Prior forecasts had seen jobless peaking at no more than 6%. The economy is “deteriorating faster than any time since the second quarter of 1980,” former Fed governor Lyle Gramley told Bloomberg Television today. Indeed, the Fed pledged at its Oct. 28-29 meeting to take “whatever steps were necessary to support the recovery of the economy.”
Cheers, it’s not the end of the world…yet.
