LA Times: Economy is going from bad to worse, reports show

[marmar]

Economy is going from bad to worse, reports show

By Maura Reynolds
January 30, 2009


Reporting from Washington -- The bad economic news keeps piling up.

On Thursday, three milestones showing the depths of the downturn were reached: The number of workers filing unemployment claims hit an all-time high, sales of new homes fell to an all-time low, and production of durable goods dropped for the fifth straight month, boosting inventories to their highest level since at least 1992.

And it's not over yet. Today, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release its initial estimate of the U.S. gross domestic product -- the value of all goods and services produced by the economy -- for the fourth quarter of 2008. The report will essentially wrap into one sobering number all the grim developments that have been accumulating for weeks and months.

Many economists think the economic output declined in the fourth quarter at an annual rate of 5% or more -- which would make it the worst quarter for the U.S. economy since 1982.

"It will be bad," said Nigel Gault, chief U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight, a forecasting firm in Lexington, Mass. He estimated that the economy shrank at a 5.3% annual rate in the three months that ended Dec. 31.

Moreover, Gault added, Thursday's data indicate that the current quarter "will be just as bad." ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-econ30-2009jan30,0,3779030.story

[sam sarrha]

1. with the ReThuglicans shoveling their RANCID SHIT on consumer/business confidence we are DOOMED.!!

[damntexdem]

2. It was called the Great War, until another came along, so it was renamed World War One.

We've called it the Great Depression until ...

[Possumpoint]

3. We'd Better Hope

That it doesn't get that bad. 25% unemployment would be a heavy burden. If I remember right, that would work out to about 40 million people out of work. The potential for civil unrest would be very high.