Recession impression

This recession will be short and mild, says Mark Zandi of economy.com. He told me so in February for an interview I did with him for Shukan Daiyamondo, and he still maintains that view, as this article and others show.

But longer term, he thinks we’re going to go through a major lifestyle change. Forget the rising cost of oil: we might be going back to households with one TV (gasp).

Consumers are going to have to match their spending with their income, something that we haven’t done for 25 years. Saving rates will rise. U.S. consumers are not going to be able to borrow as aggressively as they have in the past. They’re not going to have the benefit of declining interest rates. Asset values – stocks, bonds, and real estate – aren’t going to appreciate as quickly in the next 25 years as they did in the past 25 years

I’ve gotten behind in posting things to this blog; this should’ve gone up in February. I’ll try to be better.

Here’s the full World Voice with Mark Zandi.
World Voice: Zandi