If the coming recession forces Americans out of their SUVs and reduces their oil demand, it won't be a complete dissaster.

Geoff. Marshall, Auckland, New Zealand

The US economy most certainly doesn't need the rest of the world, like the rest of the world needs it. The US economy is in fact one of the only modern economies, which could quite happily close its borders and refuse to trade internationally.
This recession and the ensuing global finance crisis will ultimately show the softness in the Chinese economy. It will be an interesting 3months.

Joe, Constance, Germany

Contrary to the view of some, I am saving lots of money - recession or not. My investments were planned long ago - not based on greed, but on soundness. It has paid off in spades.

Robert Strathy, Lake Placid, Florida USA

Almost no one is saving any money in the United States today. Many don’t have any money to save or simply don’t want to save. Saving rates are very low or negative in many US states. The US government debt grows by about $1.5 billion per day and has now crossed more than $13.2 trillion dollars. The US private household debt has now crossed more than $14.7 trillion and half of these debts have been incurred after 1998. The fact is that the expanding consumer debt drives the US economy. The Americans are enjoying the present spending spree at the cost of their own future and future generations. In the near future, many Americans might have to face harsh reality like a poverty-stricken, third world family, living from hand to mouth situation without any kind of financial reserves whatsoever. The imminent economic crisis is waiting to happen in the US and will be most thoroughly predicted one in recent human history.

Uma Shankar, UK,

The rich US neo-socialist ‘elements’ were capable of thinking, planning, starting and are carrying on an illegal ‘war on terror’ in Afghanistan and Iraq to siphon of millions and millions of US taxpayer’s dollars for the sole benefit of arms manufacturers, oil traders and the security firms. It already had cost the lives of more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians and 4,500 US tropes, injured 200,00 Iraqi civilians and 75,000 US tropes and more than 2,000,000 displaced Iraqi refugees. They simply linked 9/11 to Afghanistan and then WMD to Iraq for initiating this illegal ‘war on terror’ moneymaking horror.

Dear Americans, it is the right time to claim back your dear America back from all those neo-socialist ‘elements’. Or your future and future generations will go to early grave without a reason and without a fight.

Uma Shankar, UK,

To Lance in the States,
Very amusing ,so the cheap money of the last decade only
went to a sub group namely sub prime, eck I'm using the
word myself !! .

Chris, Nottingham,

This is Greenspan's legacy as a result from cutting the interest rate to a silly 1%, post 9/11. A spectacular success for Al Qaeda....

cww, suffolk,

america is not in a recession now, they are now in a deep depression. they have been in recession for nearly a year now and are spirilling lower. they can do 0 now to prevent it because they caused it by cutting rates to 1%. they will just have to grind it out for 10 years.

mike keary, paisley, scotland

Where the American economy goes the UK economy will follow. The Americans can increase exports to overcome the worst of the coming recession but these days the UK has limited exporting capabilities.

I hope that the days of "Consumption Ecomonics" are over. I hope that the American and British voters elect governments that adopt long lasting economic policies.

Costas, Cyprus,

Dear Sir,

If I am permitted to challenge the numbers mentioned in this article,

$400Billion equals $400,000Million. At an average house price of $200,000 in US, we 2Million people or roughly a population of 8Million [including families] defaulted. This compared against 62,000 job losses is quite an incomparable number.

I am not saying the US economy is not in recession but Is there a bit of an exaggeration here?

Jagadish, Bromley, UK

In fact a strong pound vs the dollar probably does no real harm as we do not trade much with the US compared to Europe and we have a lot of dollar earnings from large multinaitionals (Oil and Drug companies for example)

The pound has actually fallen quite sharply against the Euro recently and this is more important and beneficial for our trade balance.

Our problems are not related to the strength or otherwise of sterling

Chris , Haslemere, Surrey

In order to sustain its national debt, the US economy must grow proportionately. We are "condemned to consume," so to speak, that we may carry our large national debt without being crushed by it. This ironic necessity has made United Statesans increasingly greedy ever since the advent of Reaganomics. Now money is all that people care about. This recession was inevitable because, contrary to Wall Street pipe dreams, no economy can keep growing endlessly and without limit forever, each year greater than the last. There is a limit to all things, even imagination.

It was predictable that "interest-only" housing loans would trigger this recession (and the worst is yet to come). In its frenzy to "grow the economy," the US government turned a blind eye to these loans and now cries crocodile tears.

W. James, Sacramento, USA / CA

Hey Brits: 1/3 of Americans love the war and suicide economics, 1/3 love peace and pay as you go, and 1/3 are just ducking for the nearest cover. American is divided into 3 "ethnic" groups, just like Iraq! What comes around goes around. Crazy world. Like Iraq, policy is dictated by the extremest, but here we call them "Fundamentalists". So, when you speak of "Americans" please realize that you are probably only referring to a subgroup of 1/3 of the nation!

lance, Philadelphia, USA

President Bush flew onto an aircraft carrier and declaired that the war in Iraq was over. Today it continues and the bodybags are still being filled.
Now he tries to tell us that we are not in recession.
Got it wrong again.
The US has been spending money it did not have for years. It is now payback time and it is beginning to hurt.
If the president can not recognise the economic symptoms then what hope has the country to solve this problem. His plan to print money and give everyone 600 dollars is doomed, except to help the Chinese economy. Expect a surge in the sales of DVD players and digital TVs.
This hand out will not solve the glut of over priced and over supplied housing. Nor will it solve the personal and national debt problems.

Richard Ward, Greensboro, USA

The US economy gives the impression of an alcoholic who believes the cure is to have another drink (i.e. more financial easing). Americans are used to asset inflation providing their incomes and are in for a rude awakening. No fiscal or menetary stimulus can solve the current woes It will be a long time before Americans recover from this hangover and realize that they have to work for a living.

Jasper, Greenwich,

The greed of the fatcats in the financial sector got us where we are. Having appropriated much of the western world's eonomic growth in the last decade, they threw crumbs to more ordinary mortals in the form of cheap and easy credits, which worked only so long as asset values continued to rise. Now the rest of society is having to chip in to make good the damage the fatcats have done to their industry, while at the same time facing up to a hefty explosion in raw material and food prices.

At least Bernanke and the Fed have grasped the urgency of the situation. That's more than can be said of Trichet and his henchmen at the Euro Central Bank, who are still fighting the previous war and do not seem to have realise that you can't fight raw material cost escalation with high interest rates - it simply removes further purchasing power from the long-suffering consumer and spells (surprise, surprise!) RECESSION writ large. And at $2/£, the UK economy is looking over a cliff.....

Douglas, Basel, Switzerland