Data signal deep global downturn

Chris Giles
Financial Times
December 2, 2008

Evidence of a global slide towards a deep recession mounted on Monday with severe strain reported by manufacturing companies around the world, large falls in car sales across Europe and bad construction figures in the US.

So clear were the signs of downturn in the US that the National Bureau of Economic Research, the most prestigious US independent economic authority, said the country had been in recession since December 2007.

The gloom prompted a near 9 per cent fall in the S&P 500 index, reversing gains made last week, while the 10-year Treasury yield fell to its lowest level for more than half a century.

The NBER academics define a recession as “a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in production, employment, real income, and other indicators”.

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