Video Roundup: Is a Recession Coming?
By: On Friday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will address the annual monetary
conference held in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Amid the U.S. subprime mortgage mess, tightening global credit and a volatile market, everyone is waiting on what Bernanke will say -- and do.
But market opinions are more diverse than some believe. A cross-section of executives, analysts and investment strategists offered CNBC their insights on where the economy stands.
Following is a sample of our coverage.
CEOs To Fed: Act Now
Chief executives across the board are growing more strident in calling for rate cuts.
Mike Jackson, chairman and CEO of AutoNation, warns, "We are absolutely going to have a recession if we don't get rate cuts this year."
Larry Goldstone, president and CEO of Thornburg Mortgage, tells CNBC, "The Fed is not talking about the credit crisis, it's not acknowledging what's going on in the commercial paper market. To me, that's a lack of leadership."
Angelo Mozilo, chairman and CEO of Countrywide Financial, says, "When you're having this level of delinquincies, foreclosures -- I can't believe it doesn't have a material effect on the psyches of the American people and eventually on their wallets."
Chrysler's newly-hired CEO Robert Nardelli and Ford Motor's Alan Mulally each called for rate cuts. And William D. Zollars, chairman and CEO of trucking company YRC Worldwide, said the Fed must look beyond financial firms: " I think the goods economy is beginning to suffer."
| Price | Change | %Change | ||
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| PROF SOILGAS I | --- | |||
| F | --- | |||
| YRCW | --- |
Recession Threat 'Real'
Ara Hovnanian, chief executive of homebuilder Hovnanian Enterprises, told CNBC on Thursday that the conditions for a recession are rife -- and called for a rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
The company yanked its financial forecasts for fiscal 2007, citing murky market conditions that make it impossible to give accurate projections.
"The credit market disarray is real," the CEO warned. "Clearly, a rate cut would be helpful to the overall economy right now." Hovnanian said a cut would serve as a "psychologically" powerful tonic -- and with "so many adjustable rate mortgages waiting to adjust," a rate cut would "help ease the pain of that adjustment for many consumers."
