US now in recession, top bank says
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Merrill Lynch says the US economy has entered a recession (File photo).
A top bank says the feared recession in the United States economy has arrived.
A report from Merrill Lynch, one of the world's leading financial management and advisory companies, says Friday's employment report confirmed that the US is in the first month of a recession.
The employment report sent shares tumbling worldwide.
Merrill Lynch's view is controversial, with banks such as Lehman Brothers disagreeing.
An official ruling on whether the US in recession is made by the National Bureau of Economic Research, but this decision may not come for two years.
The bureau defines a recession as a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months.
- BBC
