Downturn dilemmas
Through a series of videos, the FT looks at how US companies would cope with an economic slowdown. The series starts with the upbeat outlook of US executives
US recession
Resources
Jury bides time before ruling on ‘recession’
Positive first-quarter growth, smaller than expected job losses in April and a rebound in service sector activity has reopened debate as to whether the US economic downturn is properly described as a recession
Fuel price the key as Memphis gets blues
This city of more than 1m people on the banks of the Mississippi river has not been able to escape the forces that have brought the US economy to a virtual standstill over the past six months
More US businesses file for bankruptcy
Corporate bankruptcy filings in the US last month rose more than 50 per cent over the previous year’s figure, as the economy weakens and an increasing number of businesses fail
Growth fails to allay recession fears
The US economy grew at an annualised rate of 0.6 per cent in the first three months of this year, avoiding outright contraction owing to a build-up in business inventories and continued support from exports
US watchdog presses for mortgage rescues
The US should fight the housing crisis by using low-cost government loans to help borrowers pay down unaffordable mortgages, Sheila Bair, one of the country’s top banking regulators, proposes
Related content and features
Video
Manufacturers survive by going lean
Francesco Guerrera says US manufacturing has prepared for the downturn by slimming down and diversifying overseas
The tech sector and the US economy
Paul Taylor says US high-tech companies are nervous about the US economic downturn, but hope overseas business will offer better insulation than in 2000-2001
More video from this series
• Francesco Guerrera: Big oil breathes easy as recession beckons
• Jonathan Birchall: Where will US consumers spend their tax rebates?
• Justin Baer: Consumer-dependent companies re-tailor plans
• Francesco Guerrera: Wall Street braces for a downturn
• Francesco Guerrera: Corporate America and the economic downturn
Comment and Analyis
A passing storm? Is the worst over?
A belief is growing on Wall Street that the credit market turmoil could finally be abating. Yet new losses could develop as the economy deteriorates
The Fed should hold rates for now
The past month has brought a dramatic change in expectations for interest rates over the next few years, without any dramatic change in Fed rhetoric
Why this crisis is still far from finished
Financial dislocations have now caused the real economy to become, in itself, a source of potential disruption, writes Mohamed El-Erian
How the state can stabilise the housing market
This proposal would give owners who remain committed to their homes the means to ride out the crisis, writes Sheila Bair
Put this crisis into historical perspective
An economy must have deep structural flaws to be damaged by a financial shock – Japan’s flaws were woven into the fabric of its economy; America’s subprime fiasco resulted from correctable policy mistakes, writes Richard Katz
Road to ruin? America ponders the depth of its downturn
Policymakers and economists no longer question whether the US is heading into a recession but differ on the duration; much will depend on the housing market
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