In Brief... Is a World Recession Now Possible?
Recent headlines and dropheads (directly under those headlines) in USA Today are not encouraging. For instance: "Inflation, Falling Home Prices Fuel Anxiety. Home sales decline again; prices tumble as inventories swell; reports add to case that US is at the brink of a recession."
It used to be said that when America coughs, the whole world catches a cold. Some spin-off becomes obvious when one reads another headline and drophead in USA Today. "Woe Canada: Catching USA's Economic Chill. No. 1 trading partner among first to feel our pain." And then in The Times (London): "Europe Decline Could Be Worse Than Expected, Brussels Admits. Eurozone growth is set for sharp fall. US downturn and market turmoil blamed."
Media hype? Yes, there is always an element of that. But there is reason to believe that in this case the smoke does indicate a fire. A feature article in the Financial Times blames America's failing house sector as the chief culprit, saying that macro-economic measures were proving helpful, but that mortgage lending support was still highly inadequate.
Lawrence Summers, former U.S. secretary of the Treasury and a professor at Harvard, said: "It appears that house prices are down by 5-10 per cent from their peak, with derivatives markets predicting further declines of about 20 per cent. Price falls of this magnitude are likely to mean more than 10 m[illion] would have negative equity in their homes and more than 2 m[illion] foreclosures would take place over the next two years" (ibid., Feb. 25, 2008).
If you need help in coping with your own personal financial situation, request or download our free booklet Managing Your Finances.
An Article from:
World News and Prophecy: March - April 2008
Course Content
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
