Recession

WASHINGTON -- An important gauge of future economic activity declined sharply in September as the toll on jobs lost from the Gulf Coast hurricanes rose to nearly half a million. The 0.7 percent drop in the Index of Leading Economic Indicators, reported yesterday by the Conference Board, was bigger than expected. The gauge now has fallen three straight months for the first time since the recession year of 2001. One rule of thumb says three such declines in a row could signal an impending recession.

Britain is in a deeper recession than previously thought, official figures showed Thursday, in another downbeat development that will likely heap the pressure on the government and the central bank to do more to boost the flagging economy. The Office for National Statistics said the British economy contracted by 0.3 percent in both the fourth quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012, as against the 0.2 percent rates previously reported. The declines mean Britain is back in recession, officially defined as two straight quarters of negative growth.

The Czech Statistics Office says the country remained stuck in recession as its economy suffered a sharper downturn than expected and shrank by 1.0 percent. The economy contracted for the third consecutive quarter after it was down by 0.3 percent in the 2011 fourth quarter and by 0.1 percent the previous quarter. Analysts predicted a slight growth. The office also said Tuesday the economy contracted by 1.0 percent year on year, according to preliminary figures. According to the government prediction, the economy was expected to stagnate overall this year after recording a 1.7 percent...

ABN Amro, the state-owned Dutch bank, has reported a 32 percent fall in first-quarter profits, reflecting the ongoing recession in the Netherlands. Net profit was (EURO)454 million ($557 million), from (EURO)539 million in the same period a year ago. The company's net earnings from fees, commissions and interest all fell, while provisions for bad loans increased, mostly due to bad mortgage and personal debt in the Netherlands. Chief executive Gerrit Zalm said Europe's sovereign debt crisis is not helping the bank's performance.

Romania's economy has slid back into recession after it contracted for two consecutive quarters, with the European sovereign-debt crisis and freezing temperatures hitting exports and industrial output, officials said Tuesday. The National Statistics Office reported that gross domestic product shrank about 0.1 percent from January to March, after falling 0.2 percent in the last three months of 2011. The news caused the national currency, the leu, to hit an all-time low against the euro, and the prime minister said he was committed to reducing public spending.

Preliminary figures from Italy's national statistical agency confirm that the eurozone's third-largest economy has slid into recession. ISTAT said Wednesday that the Italian economy contracted a quarterly rate of 0.7 percent in the last three months of 2011 — that's the second straight quarterly decline, the official definition of a recession. The Italian economy registered growth of 0.4 percent last year, compared with 1.4 percent a year earlier. Italy is struggling to escape Europe's sovereign debt crisis with measures to cut spending and spur growth.

HONG KONG -- Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan warned yesterday that the US economy might slip into recession by year's end. The economy has been expanding since 2001, he said, and there are signs the current economic cycle is coming to an end. "When you get this far away from a recession, invariably forces build up for the next recession, and indeed we are beginning to see that sign," Greenspan said via satellite link to...

Americans are hunkering down and saving more. For a recession-battered economy, it couldn't be happening at a worse time. Economists call it the "paradox of thrift. " What's good for individuals - spending less, saving more - is bad for the economy when everyone does it. On Friday, the government said the savings rate, as a percentage of after-tax incomes, rose to 2.9 percent in the last three months of 2008, up from less than 1 percent a year earlier. But spending accounts for about 70 percent of US economic activity.

Massachusetts residents spent more on their personal health in 2009 than residents of any other states, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reported last month. Since passage of the 2006 state health law, physicians and clinical services have consumed a larger percentage of total spending as more people in the state get health insurance. Every New England state but Vermont was among the top 10 states in per capita health spending for 2009, the most recent year for which data are available.

PROVIDENCE - “Interesting fact about recessions . . . they end.’’ “Self worth is greater than net worth.’’ “This will end long before those who caused it are paroled.’’ Those are a few of the messages drivers in Rhode Island and across the country are seeing as part of a billboard campaign dubbed “Recession 101’’ and funded by an anonymous East Coast donor who was depressed about how the country was reacting to...

Maybe the U.S. economy's strength this winter wasn't just weather-related after all. Home construction is near a three-year high. And factory output has risen in three of the year's first four months. The data released Wednesday suggest growth in the April-June quarter is off to a good start, helped by falling gas prices and solid hiring gains. Fears of a spring slump are easing. "It's all very encouraging," said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics.

Romania's economy has slid back into recession after it contracted for two consecutive quarters, with the European sovereign-debt crisis and freezing temperatures hitting exports and industrial output, officials said Tuesday. The National Statistics Office reported that gross domestic product shrank about 0.1 percent from January to March, after falling 0.2 percent in the last three months of 2011. The news caused the national currency, the leu, to hit an all-time low against the euro, and the prime minister said he was committed to reducing...

The Czech Statistics Office says the country remained stuck in recession as its economy suffered a sharper downturn than expected and shrank by 1.0 percent. The economy contracted for the third consecutive quarter after it was down by 0.3 percent in the 2011 fourth quarter and by 0.1 percent the previous quarter. Analysts predicted a slight growth. The office also said Tuesday the economy contracted by 1.0 percent year on year, according to preliminary figures. According to the government prediction, the economy was expected to stagnate overall this year after...

A new report predicts Rhode Island's economic growth will slow over the next few months and the risk of a double-dip recession is increasing. The economic report by Bryant University and the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council says the state's economy expanded less than 1 percent in the first three months of the year and predicts even slower expansion in the next two quarters. The Providence Journal reports ( http://bit.ly/JixGjI) the authors of the forecast called on state and local governments to work with businesses to stimulate economic activity and promote economic growth.

Wall Street gnawed on a muddle of economic data and corporate profit reports, then sent stocks lower a second day. Disappointing retail results from April set the tone early in the day; many investors worry that Europe's recession will hurt American exporters. Trading was uneven, with traders trying to bet on what the monthly US jobs report will look like.

NEW YORK (AP) — Renewed worries about the fragility of Europe's finances are helping to drive stocks lower. The Spanish government said Monday that its economy shrank in the first three months of 2011, putting one of the largest economies in Europe into a recession. In the US, a drop in Midwestern manufacturing and a slowdown in consumer spending added to concerns that the economy is losing steam. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell five points to 1,398. The benchmark lost 0.8 percent in April, its first monthly drop since November.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The finances of many states have deteriorated so badly that they appear to be in a recession, regardless of whether that's true for the nation as a whole, a survey of all 50 state fiscal directors concludes. The situation looks even worse for the upcoming fiscal year. "Whether or not the national economy is in recession - a subject of ongoing debate - is almost beside the point for some states," said the report to be released today by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

WASHINGTON - Brace yourself: The recession is projected to worsen this year. The country stands to lose a sizable chunk of economic activity as consumers at home and abroad retrench in the face of persistent economic troubles. And the US unemployment rate - now 7.6 percent, the highest in more than 16 years - is expected hit a peak of 9 percent this year. That gloomy outlook came from forecasters in the latest survey by the National Association for Business Economics. The new estimates are roughly in line with other recent projections, including...

Investors bought U.S. government bonds Monday after fresh worries emerged about Spain's economy. Spain said it was back in recession for the second time in three years. Investors worried that Spain might need a rescue as Greece and Ireland did. But rescuing the fourth-largest economy in the 17-country euro zone could prove to be too expensive for Europe's bailout funds. U.S. Treasurys are viewed as one of the safest investments in the world and usually rise in value when investors are anxious.

BACK IN RECESSION: Spain said it was back in recession, as the country's economy shrank 0.3 percent in the first quarter compared with the previous three months. The contraction follows a similar decline in the last three months of 2011. NOT ALONE: This is Spain's second recession in three years. AUSTERIY UNWELCOME: Spain now has 24.4 percent unemployment and a deficit of 8.5 percent as of the end of 2011, which it must reduce to 3 percent in 2013. On Sunday, tens of thousands people protested emergency reforms and austerity measures.