Economic tidbits

Recession Ended in June 2009

Excerpt:

The business-cycle dating committee met by phone on Sunday and came to the determination. “In determining that a trough occurred in June 2009, the committee did not conclude that economic conditions since that month have been favorable or that the economy has returned to operating at normal capacity. Rather, the committee determined only that the recession ended and a recovery began in that month,” the committee said in a statement. The 2007-2009 recession is the longest in the post-WWII period.

The decision by the NBER means that any future downturn in the economy would be considered a new recession and not a continuation of the recession that began in 2007.

Comments: Probably accurate (the official ending of the recession), but it sure does not feel like a recovery! Eg: The very high unemployment, the underemployment, the chronically unemployed, etc.

Defaults Account for Most of Pared Down Debt

Excerpt:

The sharp decline in U.S. household debt over the past couple years has conjured up images of people across the country tightening their belts in order to pay down their mortgages and credit-card balances. A closer look, though, suggests a different picture: Some are defaulting, while the rest aren’t making much of a dent in their debts at all.

Comment: Defaulting debt may look good for the borrower, but for the lender it is just a write-off.