EconoLog

NEW YORK (AP) - Is the U.S. economy slipping into recession? Economists, analysts and investors are increasingly recognizing the possibility. Following are some comments Friday assessing the state of the economy, and what may happen if it slides into a recession:
-- Caterpillar Inc. said a recession "seems to be taking place." The industrial and construction equipment maker said even without a recession, it expects North American sales to "remain depressed" this year.
The company said it expects the federal government and the Federal Reserve to shepherd a recovery in the economy by cutting interest rates or taking other measures. If the government takes appropriate action, the company said this year could mark the "bottom of this U.S. machinery cycle."
-- Canaccord Adams analyst Richard Wyman attributed a resurgence in oil prices to abating fears of a recession, tempered by the federal government s $150 billion "stimulus package."
"Fears of an economic slowdown began to diminish after the announcement," he said.
-- In a report on W.W. Grainger Inc., Goldman Sachs analysts said the company is at risk of losing some profit over the next six months, in light of the firm s expectation for a mild, six-month recession.
-- "While the U.S. economy may already be in recession or heading toward one, many of Ametek Inc. s end-markets continue to appear to have legs, " an Oppenheimer note on the electronic instruments manufacturer said.
-- Bear Stearns analyst Gurinder Kalra cut estimates on most chip companies to "reflect the macroeconomic headwinds."
-- A Banc of America report on the chemicals sector, titled "What Recession?", observed that "if we are in a nascent U.S. recession, most chemical producers are not feeling it."
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