We are in a Recession In Case You Didn't Know

Finally we can say the R-word.

NBER: The Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research met by conference call on Friday, November 28. The committee maintains a chronology of the beginning and ending dates (months and quarters) of U.S. recessions. The committee determined that a peak in economic activity occurred in the U.S. economy in December 2007. The peak marks the end of the expansion that began in November 2001 and the beginning of a recession. The expansion lasted 73 months; the previous expansion of the 1990s lasted 120 months.

A recession is a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in production, employment, real income, and other indicators. A recession begins when the economy reaches a peak of activity and ends when the economy reaches its trough. Between trough and peak, the economy is in an expansion.

Obama Handles Hecklers in St. Petersburg

Everybody wants a piece of Obama. Everybody. But Obama handles it with grace and wits and calm. St. Petersburg was riled up. If you're interested in what Obama had to say at the town hall, here is the transcript.


Obama gives the hecklers a chance to speak

Here is more video of the St. Petersburg town all today. Florida is in recession for the first time in 16 years. Wow.