Odds of recession 50% or 'slightly more'

Even though the U.S. economy is edging closer to a recession, “We are not there yet,” said former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan on Thursday. He put the odds of a U.S. recession at 50% or “slightly more,” according to reports. Speaking to 1, 100 people in Houston, Mr. Greenspan cited the strength of the U.S. economy going into the credit crunch as the reason a recession was a topic for discussion rather than a reality already, and attributed the economic turmoil to the erosion of the housing market, which was compounded by the marking-down of credit. “Where all the problem is coming from is the continuous marking down of the value of those subprime securities,” Mr. Greenspan said. The former chairman remarked that the U.S. economy still had “a long way to go” before the current housing crisis subsides.