Fed downgrades economic forecast for this year - AP

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

Later in the article they predict that unemployment will remain substantially higher than normal through 2011. Hard times.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090218/ap_on_bi_ge/fed_economy_4

WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve on Wednesday sharply downgraded its projections for the country's economic performance this year, predicting the economy will actually shrink and unemployment will rise higher.

Under the new projections, the unemployment rate will rise to between 8.5 and 8.8 percent this year. The old forecasts, issued in mid-November, predicted the jobless rate would rise to between 7.1 and 7.6 percent.

The Fed also believes the economy will contract this year between 0.5 and 1.3 percent. The old forecast said the economy could shrink by 0.2 percent or expand by 1.1 percent.

The bleaker outlook represents the growing toll of the worst housing, credit and financial crises since the 1930s. All of those negative forces have plunged the nation into a recession, now in its second year.

[Skink]

1. Now that Bush is out how do we interpret the numbers?

[Zywiec]

3. Right, because now we can believe everything the government tells us

:sarcasm:

[sandnsea]

2. It was already forecast to be shit

What's below that?