Are we hitting a recession?

When it comes to a recession you always have the optimists talking about waves and cycles. This is just low growth or this is just the trough of the economic wave/cycle. Whether a dip or a trough or slow growth...a recession is a recession. And when it hits, it hits hard.

I am no economic expert at all. My networked economy class often leaves me puzzled. Not to mention that so do so many other things. Any way, in my arbitrary and unqualified opinion makes me believe we are in a recession. Yes, my friend, buckle up. We are diving low!

Yahoo! recently unveiled plans to lay off a 1000 people (i.e. almost 7% of the its workforce). Say 'Yahoo!' now would you. Macy's also recently announced to lay off about 950 employees (with 'benefits' of course). RealNetworks laid off just 10. Fidelity (the largest mutual funds firm) lays off 250. Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc. let go of 123 employees. Electric sheep company lays off 22. Pfizer Exubera lays off 123. KWQC-TV6 lays off 12. I could keep going but I think you get what I am saying.


I know people from my department who graduated this last summer and are still looking for jobs. I know people from my hubby's school who are unable to find jobs. I know people from a close friend's school who are busy job hunting months after graduation. And let me tell you these people all went to great schools.

To quote my head of the department.

'I graduated from Columbia amidst a recession. I could not believe we were in a recession till my 4.0 failed to get me a job'.

So yeah t'is a bad time to graduate.

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Just found this online. US economy grew at a rate of 0.6% in the last quarter of 2007. Bravo!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7217769.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7217227.stm