Despite the current economic situation still not meeting the technical definition of recession (two quarters of negative economic growth) BusinessWeek just launched a blog that assumes otherwise.
BusinessWeek started the “Recession in America” blog on May 2. It is dedicated solely to reporting on the “recession [that] is here (or will be soon),” as the headline of a May 19 post stated (h/t BMI advisor Chris Roush of Talkingbiznews.com).
“As the
BusinessWeek’s effort to create this medium comes as some economists are dialing back their forecasts that a recession is inevitable. The May 14 Wall Street Journal reported some economists weren’t quite ready to declare an economic recession a foregone conclusion.
“A funny thing happened to the economy on its way to recession: It's taken a detour,” Kelly Evans and Justin Lahart wrote for the Journal. “That, at least, is the view of a growing number of economists – including some who not long ago were saying a recession was all but inevitable. They note that stock and credit markets have steadily improved since the Federal Reserve intervened to keep Bear Stearns Cos. from bankruptcy in early March, while a series of economic reports have been stronger than expected.”
Wachovia (NYSE:WB) put the odds of a recession at 45 percent, down from 90 percent in April, according to the article.
“We have tended to be more optimistic about the outlook and very reluctant to embrace the recession talk,” Wachovia senior economist Mark Vitner said in an e-mail to the Business & Media Institute.
The Journal article also suggested the 0.6 percent gross domestic product number released by the Commerce Dept. could also be revised higher.
Catts didn’t exactly jump for joy after he read the news. He presented his own summary of the Journal story in a May 14 post.
“In other words, we’ll get three more months of the conditions we’ve seen since last fall, then things will improve a bit but still stay considerably more sluggish than we’re used to for the rest of the year,” Catts wrote. “And this is good news? Well, it’s better than a shrinking economy.”
