Brick-and-mortar retailers are already in recession, they've been laying off workers coming up on three years. And this is a time when consumers are out spending aggressively. If the broader economy is in recession, there is going to be blood in the streets.

Mark Zandi

Categorized in : Top News

It's been cheaper for companies to expand by hiring people rather... by Mark Zandi

It's been cheaper for companies to expand by hiring people rather than investing.

My working assumption is that the Chinese are going to be able to gracefully manage their slowdown. But if they stumble too much, that'll make it more difficult for the global economy to kick into a higher gear for sure, including the U.S. economy.

It's almost as if my reputation is dependent on me getting that number right, my heart is pounding before the report comes out. It's really bizarre.

It's amazing how much energy I spend on that number, i want to hi... by Mark Zandi

It's amazing how much energy I spend on that number, i want to hit that number.

It's time to pull the bandage off America's foreclosure problem. The economy is ready to emerge from its recent dark period, but to make it happen soon we need to speed the resolution of millions of troubled home loans. Six years have passed since the crisis began, yet instead of accelerating, foreclosures have slowed.

problem dark home time

Now, I do think when we move into 2012 and '13 when, presumably, the economy is on firmer ground, I would allow the tax rates for upper-income individuals to revert back to where they were before the cuts in the 1990s. I think at that point it makes perfect sense.

back think economy perfect

It is time to move on. House prices won't rise and the economy won't fully engage until more distressed properties are resolved and put back into ordinary use.

rise back house time

The biggest culprits in the housing fiasco came from the private sector, and more specifically from a mortgage industry that was out of control.

control more housing industry