Greenspan Talks Recession as Oil Prices Soar

Seems like everything is a crisis these days, what with the subprime mortgage crisis, the oil crisis and, perhaps most troubling of all, the climate change crisis. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan acknowledged the complexity and interconnectedness of these unsettling trends Tuesday, stopping short of declaring that a major recession is on the way but without ruling out a recession of lesser magnitude.

Bloomberg.com:

The actions in March have reduced the threat of a “severe recession,’’ he said. Yet an economic rebound in the U.S. “isn’t in the immediate outlook,’’ he said.

The Fed this year has cut the benchmark interest rate at the fastest pace in two decades to sustain economic growth and avert a financial-market meltdown following the collapse of the subprime mortgage market.

The U.S. is dealing with “the most complex’’ financial crisis in more than five decades, Greenspan said.

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Forecast: Trouble likely, says Greenspan.