It’s Official: Recession is One Year Old
December 1st, 2008 1:33 pm | by John Jansen |The National Bureau of Economic Research has decreed that the recession began last December. On the more pertinent question of when it might end, that august body chose not to opine.
8 Responses to “It’s Official: Recession is One Year Old”
By ndk on Dec 1, 2008 | Reply
Bernanke suggests direct OMO purchases of long T’s
By y81 on Dec 1, 2008 | Reply
The people who can tell you the ending date get paid a LOT more money than the NBER staff.
By yagij on Dec 1, 2008 | Reply
I was going to post what ndk said:
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One option is for the Fed to buy “longer-term Treasury or agency securities on the open market in substantial quantities,” Bernanke said. “This approach might influence the yields on these securities, thus helping to spur aggregate demand.”
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The greatest student of GD1 heralds in GD2. Classic. If I see him in person, I will laugh in his face.
I’m glossing the term “Banklar” instead of “Banker”.
Banker:Banklar::Wrestling:Rastlin’ (e.g. WWE)
By Kevin Mackey on Dec 1, 2008 | Reply
Do people really think this information means anything at this point? The beginning date may be more relevant a couple of months down the road as incoming data isn’t as bleak, but as it is getting worse, weekly and monthly data are material, not an “official” declaration of the recession’s starting date. I am most certainly open to alternative points of view, however.
By kristi on Dec 1, 2008 | Reply
Bernanke suggests direct OMO purchases of long T’s
From supporting one bubble to supporting another. We are already at record lows on these securities – at best, he is going to reward speculators, in my opinion.
By ndk on Dec 2, 2008 | Reply
From supporting one bubble to supporting another. We are already at record lows on these securities – at best, he is going to reward speculators, in my opinion.
And by blabbing about it like this he just added a huge premium for them. When you have a buyer like, say, the Fed announce that they’re coming in, front-running is fun for the whole family.
By martian on Dec 3, 2008 | Reply
Seeing that this could have as easily been called in July, one has to wonder if NBER has a political agenda in waiting until after the election. Is NBER dominated by right-wing-leaning economists?