Stories related to: recession

America's major airlines are getting ready for tougher times ahead, slashing jobs and cutting back operations. As the Christian Science Monitor reports, soaring fuel prices will inevitably lead to higher ticket prices, which will lead to less passengers—which, in turn, will force airlines to hike fares again to cover flying costs. "The party's over, particularly for leisure travelers," one industry analyst said. More »

The Iraq war and the current economic crisis aren’t unrelated issues in the minds of most Americans, a CNN poll finds. 71% said the war, which began five years ago today, helped cause the economic storm. Just 32% support the mission, with 61% saying the new president should withdraw most troops “within a few months of taking office.” More »

Hank Paulson came closer than ever to conceding that the economy is in recession in a series of interviews yesterday, Reuters reports. Weary after a weekend in which he helped to broker Bear Stearns' fire sale to JPMorgan, the treasury secretary avoided the R-word but admitted: "There's no doubt that the American people know that the economy has turned down sharply. So to me much less important is the label that's placed on it today." More »

Goldman Sachs has replaced its famously bullish chief forecaster, Abby Joseph Cohen,  with a less upbeat analyst, Bloomberg reports. Cohen will remain as senior investment strategist, handing over the daily predictions to David Kostin. Kostin sees a decline for the S&P 500 to 1160 in the short run, and a rebound to 1,380 by year's end. Cohen, by contrast, predicted in December that the index would reach 1,675 in 2008. More »

Politicians from New York to California are wringing their hands, wondering whether to cut spending or raise taxes. As the economy barrels towards recession, income and sales taxes are coming in well below expectations, and about half the states in the country are facing budget shortfalls, the New York Times reports. In many places, health care and education are on the chopping block. More »

Ben Bernanke has employed virtually every tool in the Federal Reserve's kit to calm markets panicked by the credit crisis, but hasn't scored any more than temporary rallies, Bloomberg reports in a look at the markets' fading faith in the Fed chief—and the Fed itself. "The Fed has been playing the equivalent of Whac-A-Mole,'' says a former Fed vice chairman. More »

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson vowed today to do “what it takes” to uphold a weak economy, the AP reports. “No one is debating the fact that this economy has slowed way down,” he said on the Sunday show circuit. "We feel it, we know it, the American people know it." He also backed the Federal Reserve move to fund Bear Stearns, calling it necessary to keep “disruption from spilling out into the real economy.” More »

With a recession and worsening meltdown on Wall Street looming, Fed chief Ben Bernanke has dumped textbook central bank economic policy, reports the New York Times. Last week's bailout of Bear Stearns, for example, seemed to fly in the face of his previous reluctance to rescue big institutions. And it came in the same week the Fed made $200 billion available to investment banks and another $100 billion for banks and thrifts. More »

The economy is experiencing difficulties, but President Bush said today he is certain a recovery will come soon, the AP reports. “In a free-market economy there will be good times and bad times” he said in a speech to the Economic Club of New York. “We’re going through a hard time.” Democrats wasted little time in rebutting, dispatching Chuck Schumer to invoke Herbert Hoover. More »

A cascade of bleak financial news has convinced most economists in a Wall Street Journal poll that the US is already in a recession. The results are markedly more negative than a similar survey only five weeks ago, and much of the foul mood can be traced to last week’s dismal employment report. “The evidence is now beyond a reasonable doubt,” said one. Of the 51 economists polled, 71% said recession had arrived. More »

The last month has made media boss Rupert Murdoch "a lot more pessimistic" about the outlook for the US economy, Reuters reports. Ad revenue is below expectations at his TV stations and newspapers and he expects "a temporary downturn for a year or so" at Dow Jones, the News Corp. boss told a media conference yesterday. It's the strongest public statement  yet among top media leaders concerning fears about a pending advertising recession. More »

Soaring gas prices and a still-boiling housing crisis are taking their toll on America's smaller retailers, with store bankruptcies and vacancy rates rising steadily as customers avoid impulse-buys that once fueled the industry's rapid expansion, reports AP. Vacancies hover between 7% and 8%, up from 5% just six months ago—and some analysts predict rates as high as 12.5% by the end of 2008. More »

The commercial real estate market has slowed dramatically, but won’t rival the housing implosion, reports the Wall Street Journal . Prices will likely fall just 20%, compared with 40%-plus for homes in some markets, and commercial property owners—unlike record numbers of homeowners facing foreclosure—have largely been able to keep mortgages current. More »

The US lost 63,000 jobs in February, the second straight month payrolls contracted and the worst drop since 2003, catching economists off guard and fanning fears of recession anew, Bloomberg reports. Economists hoped the economy would add 23,000 jobs after declining a modest 17,000 in January, when the unemployment rate rose to 4.9%. More »

After a hitting record high in November, Google shares have fallen 40%, reports the Los Angeles Times. Investors are concerned that a downturn in consumer spending could slow Google's growth—previously thought to be recession-proof. "Now the shine is off Google, whether deservedly or not," one media analyst said of the pioneering search giant. More »

Crude oil rose to a record $104.52 a barrel today after OPEC decided to hold production steady. “The oil market is currently stable,” said Saudi Arabia’s oil minister. “There is no need to increase even one barrel of oil.” The cartel blamed sky-high prices on “tremendous speculation,” the Wall Street Journal reports. Oil futures were up $5 on the day. More »

The US is already in a recession for all practical purposes, even if economic conditions haven't yet met the technical definition of at least two consecutive quarters of negative growth. That's the verdict of billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who tells CNBC that a serious economic slowdown is obvious in reports from retail businesses owned by his holding company. More »

Construction spending fell at its fastest rate in 14 years in January, the Commerce Department announced today, shattering expectations with a 1.7% drop. Analysts had expected just a 0.7% decline, the Wall Street Journal reports. Residential spending was the big drag, falling 2.9%, but non-residential spending was also down and could keep heading in that direction as banks raise commercial loan standards. More »

Consumer spending rose more than expected in January—but only because prices did so as well, Bloomberg reports. Adjusted for inflation, spending remained flat for the second straight month. With fuel costs rising, banks restricting loans, and property values falling, “consumers are clearly hard-pressed to maintain their standard of living and are cutting back,” says an analyst. More »

The dollar continued its fall as unrelentingly dismal economic data eroded confidence in the US economy, Bloomberg reports. The greenback set a new low of $1.52 against the euro this morning and hit a three-year bottom against the Japanese yen. Oil surged more than $2 a barrel to $103.05 in Asian trading before closing at $102.92.  More »