World May Be Lucky to Get Worst Recession Since 1983 - if lucky

[katty]

more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aKwXOAeSWBCY&refer=home

Exclusive Worldwide Regions Markets Industries Economy Politics Law Environment Invest Science Opinion Spend Sports Arts and Culture Editors' Video Picks Bloomberg Markets Magazine Special Report


World May Be Lucky to Get Worst Recession Since 1983 (Update2)

By Rich Miller

Oct. 13 (Bloomberg) -- The world may be heading for its worst recession in a quarter of a century -- if it's lucky.

A steep slump looks likely as the credit squeeze crunches economies from the U.S. to Singapore and panic engulfs global financial markets.

``It's certainly going to be the worst since the 1980s,'' says Bradford DeLong, an economics professor at the University of California at Berkeley who worked at the U.S. Treasury Department from 1993 to 1995. ``The hope is that it won't become the worst unemployment business cycle since the Great Depression.''

Of special concern: The two big bulwarks of the global economy in recent years -- U.S. consumer spending and the rapid growth of emerging markets -- may be finally giving way in the face of the 14-month-old financial turmoil.