The business-cycle dating committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research announced yesterday what most of us already knew---that the economy is in recession. What has caught many by surprise, however, is the committee's position that the recession actually began in March, and was only exacerbated by the September 11 attacks and their aftermath. Many analysts feel that the NBER's report---which shows many indicators of economic health remaining strong despite the overall slowdown---indicates that the recession is unlikely to last beyond the second quarter of 2002.
See "Recession Is Official, Research Panel Declares", PETER G. GOSSELIN, Los Angeles Times, November 26, 2001