Marc Weisbrot on AG

["Lisa & Ian Murray" <seamus@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

full piece at: http://www.commondreams.org/views/120600-104.htm

Published on Wednesday, December 6, 2000
This column is distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Media Services
Bursting Greenspan's Bubble
by Mark Weisbrot

Alan Greenspan demonstrated his awesome powers once again on Tuesday,
sending the stock markets skyward by simply admitting that the economy was
slowing. The Federal Reserve Chairman's speech was widely interpreted as an
indication that the Fed could lower interest rates next year. The recently
battered Nasdaq jumped more than 10 percent, an all-time record increase.
The signs of an economic slowdown are everywhere: third quarter GDP growth
dropped to 2.4%, from 5% in the previous quarter. Auto sales, housing
starts, and retail sales are also lagging. Vice Presidential candidate Dick
Cheney declared this week that "we may be on the front edge of a recession."

Cheney's comment was an unusual break with protocol-- presidents and their
spokespersons don't normally talk up the possibility of a recession, because
the talk itself is not healthy for the economy. He was trying to link the
downturn, if it happens, with the Clinton-Gore administration, while it is
still early enough to do so.