This word is so scary, so shocking and so threatening that people will go to great lengths to avoid saying it, or admitting we're in one.

One example is FED chair Ben Bernanke's comments today.

"Financial markets remain under considerable stress," Mr. Bernanke said, in remarks prepared for delivery Wednesday morning to the Joint Economic Committee. "The capacity and willingness of some large institutions to extend new credit remains limited."

Over all, Mr. Bernanke said, "It now appears likely that real gross domestic product will not grow much, if at all, over the first half of 2008 and could even contract slightly."

While he said growth would likely recover in the second half of the year, and return to a "sustainable pace" in 2009, he warned that the current turbulence made the economic outlook difficult to predict.

"The uncertainty attending this forecast is quite high and the risks remain to the downside," he said.

In his testimony, Mr. Bernanke presented a laundry list of coming economic woes. He said he expected the unemployment rate to rise and payrolls to shrink. In addition, home construction would continue to fall, he said, and inflation will remain a concern for several months.

Mr. Bernanke also cited strains in a range of credit markets, including those for corporate debt, municipal bonds, student loans and government-backed mortgages, but added that he was "confident in our economy's long-term prospects."

I'm so relieved he didn't say "We're in a recession," cause I think my head would have exploded in response.
(via NY Times)