“Near recession” Predicted by UCLA Economists

The U.S. economy will spiral down over the coming months but a recession will be narrowly avoided, stated the UCLA Anderson Forecast released Wednesday. This “near recession” is being driven by the downturn in the global financial market, according to economists at the university’s Anderson School of Management. Growth will stagnate at slightly above 1 percent over the first three months of 2008. A recession is declared when there are two successive quarters of no growth. Home values will continue to fall, dropping 10 percent to 15 percent from their highs, the forecast says. Unemployment, currently at 4.6 percent, will climb to 5.2 percent by mid-2008. The Anderson School of Management economists predicted the 2001 recession following 9/11.