US economy to enter 17th month of recession in April

The Federal government's mega bailout packages seem to have failed to steer the US out of the economic downturn, as the nation enters into recession for the 17th straight month in April, one of the longest periods since the 1930's Great Depression.

America officially entered into recession in December 2007.

The 17 months of recession coincides with the G-20 meeting on April 2 in London, where world leaders would be coming together to discuss ways to tackle the global financial crisis.

To shore up the economy, the Federal government has so far pumped in billions of dollars into the system and even unveiled a mammoth USD 787-billion stimulus plan.

Recently, the Obama administration came up with a public- private partnership to buy toxic assets worth about $1 trillion. In addition to stimulus packages, the US government initiated unprecedented steps like buying stakes in financial institutions and guaranteeing toxic assets of certain firms.

The American GDP has contracted a whopping 6.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2008, the most in the last 26 years.

According to the Business Cycle Dating of the National Bureau of Economic Research, the US economy slipped into recession in December 2007.