..... that it started six months ago? :scared:
from Bloomberg:
Bernanke Says U.S. Economy May Slip Into a Recession (Update3)
By Scott Lanman
April 2 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke acknowledged for the first time that a U.S. recession is possible because homebuilding, unemployment and consumer spending will deteriorate.
``It now appears likely that real gross domestic product will not grow much, if at all, over the first half of 2008 and could even contract slightly,'' Bernanke said in testimony to Congress's Joint Economic Committee today. He also told lawmakers the Fed's emergency loan to Bear Stearns Cos. followed a March 13 warning by the company it ``would have to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy the next day.''
Bernanke, making his first extensive public comments since the Fed's decisions two weeks ago to back the takeover of Bear Stearns and lower interest rates by 0.75 percentage point, is trying to fend off criticism of the deal while struggling to prevent a deeper economic slump. He said he thought ``long and hard'' about the decision, and hopes not to undertake a similar rescue again.
While the Fed expects the economy to return to its long-term growth pace in 2009, ``in light of the recent turbulence in financial markets, the uncertainty attending this forecast is quite high and the risks remain to the downside,'' he said.
Treasury notes were little changed after Bernanke's remarks. The benchmark 10-year note yielded 3.55 percent at 10:06 a.m. in New York, about the same as late yesterday. Stocks fell.
``This is a much more pessimistic assessment of the economy than what the Fed had three months ago or six months ago,'' said John Silvia, chief economist at Wachovia Corp. in Charlotte, North Carolina, who previously worked as a senior economist in Congress. ``Certainly, the Fed and the capital markets have been surprised the economy has slowed so quickly.'' ......(more)
The complete piece is at:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aKXpOkaCuAy4&refer=home