Recession they had to have

Leading financial management company Merrill Lynch has announced the arrival of recession in the United States. An employment report issued last Friday, which caused share prices to drop, led to the company’s declaration.

However, the declaration is controversial as US banks such as Lehman Brothers disagree with Merrill Lynch. The country’s National Bureau of Economic Research has not yet made an official ruling. The bureau’s definition of a recession is ‘a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months’.

The downturn in the US economy has already claimed Australia’s Centro Properties Group, a shopping centre owner, and superannuation companies are preparing for poor returns due to the US subprime mortgage crisis.