sharon sanders
Editor-in-Chief & President
This is what happens when consumer do not consume.
Economy shrinks at 3.8 percent pace in 4Q
Economy shrinks at 3.8 percent pace in fourth quarter, worst showing in quarter-century
<!-- ./end of article hd --> WASHINGTON (AP) -- The economy shrank at a 3.8 percent pace at the end of 2008, the worst showing in a quarter-century, as the deepening recession forced consumers and businesses to throttle back spending.
The new figure, released Friday by the Commerce Department, showed the economy sinking at a much faster clip in the October-December period than the 0.5 percent decline logged in prior quarter.
Although economists expected an even worse fourth-quarter performance -- a staggering 5.4 percent rate of decline -- the results were still grim.
The report provided clear evidence of the economy's rapid deterioration as the housing, credit and financial crises -- the worst since the 1930s -- feed on each other. It's a vicious cycle that has proven difficult for Washington policymakers to break.
The 3.8 percent annualized drop marked the weakest quarterly showing since a 6.4 percent annualized plunge in the first quarter of 1982, when the country was suffering through a severe recession.
For all of 2008, the economy grew by just 1.3 percent. That was down from a 2 percent gain in 2007 and marked the slowest growth since the last recession in 2001.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Economy-shrinks-at-38-percent-apf-14206321.html
Economy shrinks at 3.8 percent pace in 4Q
Economy shrinks at 3.8 percent pace in fourth quarter, worst showing in quarter-century
- Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer
- Friday January 30, 2009, 8:41 am EST
<!-- ./end of article hd --> WASHINGTON (AP) -- The economy shrank at a 3.8 percent pace at the end of 2008, the worst showing in a quarter-century, as the deepening recession forced consumers and businesses to throttle back spending.
The new figure, released Friday by the Commerce Department, showed the economy sinking at a much faster clip in the October-December period than the 0.5 percent decline logged in prior quarter.
Although economists expected an even worse fourth-quarter performance -- a staggering 5.4 percent rate of decline -- the results were still grim.
The report provided clear evidence of the economy's rapid deterioration as the housing, credit and financial crises -- the worst since the 1930s -- feed on each other. It's a vicious cycle that has proven difficult for Washington policymakers to break.
The 3.8 percent annualized drop marked the weakest quarterly showing since a 6.4 percent annualized plunge in the first quarter of 1982, when the country was suffering through a severe recession.
For all of 2008, the economy grew by just 1.3 percent. That was down from a 2 percent gain in 2007 and marked the slowest growth since the last recession in 2001.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Economy-shrinks-at-38-percent-apf-14206321.html