WASHINGTON (AP) -- A panel of the National Bureau of Economic Research says the U.S. economy fell into a recession last year. The NBER says its group of academic economists who determine business cycles met and decided that the U.S. recession began in December 2007. Many economists believe the current downturn will last until the middle of 2009 and will be the most severe slump since the 1981-82 recession. ...more

December 1, 2008

The Bush administration's pitch for a sweeping bailout of the financial system has centered on two simple premises: that the economy could suffer a crippling downturn if action is not taken quickly and that this should consist of the government buying troubled mortgage securities from banks and other institutions. ...more

September 26, 2008

For many Americans, rising unemployment, higher gas and food prices, and the housing slump have felt like an economic downturn. Now the government's data are catching up. ...more

August 1, 2008