Recession monster stalks US economy

IS THE United States on the brink of a collective funk as it prepares to vote on candidates to run for the presidency?

In the space of just a few weeks, the mood of the nation has turned decidedly sour as the Christmas credit card bills roll in and the talk of recession escalates.

The New York Times carried a story on Monday saying that consumer spending, which accounts for 70 per cent of the US economy, has slowed dramatically.

The newspaper's evidence was anecdotal, but alarming. Calls to department stores revealed rapidly slowing sales as the wealthy and the less-so braced for a slowdown.

American Express said that growth in spending by its 52 million cardholders had slowed from 13 per cent to 10 per cent, the first slowdown since the 2001 recession.

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