Posted on 04/08/2008 11:25:08 AM PDT by kellynla
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Some members of the Federal Reserve are worried about the possibility of a "severe and protracted downturn" in the U.S. economy, according to the minutes of the central bank's latest minutes released Tuesday.
The minutes show that some Fed policymakers are concerned that the problems in the "housing sector had deepened and that considerable uncertainty surrounded the outlook for housing."
The Fed cut its key federal funds rate by three-quarters of a point at the March 18 meeting, its sixth rate cut since September. The Fed has been cutting rates in an effort to keep the U.S. economy from falling into recession following the meltdown of the subprime mortgage market and resulting credit crunch.
But Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress last week that a "recession is possible," although he said he believed the economy is still growing slowly.
Despite the growing belief that the economy is already in recession, the presidents of the Dallas and Philadelphia Federal Reserve Banks voted against cutting rates as aggressively, a rare amount of dissent on the central bank.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
The Fed must be looking through the same glasses I have lately...
Let burn some of our food while we’re at it. i,e, biofuels.
Yeah, that extra cost at the store shelves helps out loads doesn’t it?
The layoffs, 1/4 million in a quarter, will not help slow the slowing.
I invite them to come to Michigan to observe their policies in action - The ‘Severe’ Recession has been here, statewide, for about 1 1/2 years. And Detroit? Forget about it!
I honestly hope we’re not going into a deep, protracted recession or worse. But, given just how dependent US economic activity is, upon consumer spending, it seems like it will be difficult to avoid. Also, so many people have gone into business for themselves, and stated income loans are extremely hard to find now, if not out of existence entirely. Those stated loans were heavily abused, but people with variable incomes, commissioned salespeople, freelancers and independent contractors, were the original intended market for that loan product. Without it, it’s going to be rough going for them to refi or buy a house, and possibly to obtain other types of financing.
We just signed a 1 Billion dollar contract. What glasses do you wear?
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080408/latu047a.html?.v=1
90% of this is media hype, glass half empty anaysis, and the typical doom and gloom the media and especially CNN likes.
“The layoffs, 1/4 million in a quarter, will not help slow the slowing.”
That’s strange, all the illegals in my town seem to be fully employed.
So what is going to happen when we get to 0.00% interest rate????
Moved out of Brighton about 12 years ago and my in-laws were furious about it, they said that Michigan would always be orders of magnitudes better than here.
Seems their house has been on the market for two years and their store is failing, I might let them sleep in the spare room while they get their stuff together again if they admit I was right.
Noticeably fewer here.
One that looks at different markets than you do. Medical is going great, automotive however...
1/4 million is a real number from Dept of Labor.
Sorry to be so realistic about what I'm seeing through absolutely clear glasses.
Umm...I think you forgot a sarcasm tag. How does your wife feel about your attitude towards your in-laws?
Yes I did, but it is a bitter spot for my wife and I both over how they reacted when we chose to move 333 miles away from them.
If anything she is happier than I am to be out of Michigan now, and she is the one who points out how bad Michigan is doing to them when they talk.
They actually told my wife she was welcome to leave me and come back to them if she ever wanted to, so maybe the sarcastic part isn’t all that far from the truth after all.
If 90% is media hype why am I paying a lot more at the grocery store and at the gas pump?
There are always sectors or markets on the decline, even when the general trend line is up.
Recession is by definition two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth. Anyone who states we are in a recession does not know the meaning of what that term means. Words have meaning, despite what the media thinks.
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