The Recession: Is it over?

Bernanke says recession ‘very likely over’
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Benanke said on Tuesday that the recession is over. The economy is stabilizing and our country will soon be on the path to recovery. However, Benanke also mentioned that this growth is should not be expected to happen quickly. It will take some time for balance to be regained. While the forecast is looking good, Deutsche Bank analyst Karen Weaver predicted that 'national home prices won't stop sliding until next summer and likely will fall another 10.5 percent from this summer's levels.' Unemployment is expected to reach 10 percent in this next year. The recovery won't happen immediately and might have a V-shaped turnaround. Policymakers are starting to meet to see if they will continue stimulating the economy now that it seems to be leveling.

While it is being predicted that the recession is almost over, there is still proof that it could continue. Home prices are still going down and unemployement is still going up. It is slowing but that could be just one hill on this rollercoaster of an economy. Hopefully these predictions of moderate growth are correct. It will obviously take some time and probably more money for us to get back to where we were before the recession. Our economy will seem very unstable for a while because of the recession even as it begins its upward slope. Two factors that weren't included in the article mentioned above are our spending of troops and people in the middle east as well the new strand of Swine Flu (H1N1). Our involvement in the middle east is going to continue to drain us of money, resources and labor until we get out (not saying that we should get out, merely that it will continue to take a toll on the economy). Who knows what H1N1 has in store for our country. It could be just another mild flu or a wordwide epidemic. In other words, while we hope for the best case scenario, we must be prepared for the improbable worst.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32858855/ns/business-economy_in_turmoil/