The New York Stock Exchange's bronze bull in New York City.(Chris Hondros/Newsmakers/Getty Images)
March 2008
Economic Slide
Economists looking at the Unites States economy are using the word "recession."
Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke has said that the outlook for the US economy in 2008 has worsened.
His comments in Washington come after leading investment banks warned that the US was heading for a recession.
However, Mr Bernanke said the central bank was willing to act in a decisive and timely manner to ensure the economy remained on an even keel. ("Fed boss says 2008 outlook worse," BBC News (www.news.bbc.co.uk), Jan. 11, 2008
When a group of community volunteers rang the bell to signal the close of trading at the New York Stock Exchange last Friday, it brought to a close one of the most tumultuous weeks in global markets since the fall of 2001. On Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrial average, already down 9 percent in 2008 on glum economic news, plummeted nearly 600 points (5 percent) before rallying after the announcement of an emergency three-quarter-point interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve, the biggest such reduction in 24 years. Wednesday was like Groundhog Day, with the Dow falling more than 3 percent before closing with a gain. ("The U.S. Economy Faces the Guillotine," www.newsweek.com, Feb. 4, 2008 issue)
The Great Global Market Freak-Out of 2008 has everyone asking whether the United States—already on the road to recession—is entering into a protracted period of economic trouble where jobs will be slashed, prices will continue to rise and the dollar will keep falling; and if so, whether the declining U.S. economy will pull the rest of the world down with it. (ibid.)
Inspired Commentary
It appears the current economic troubles have resulted to a large degree from excesses and greed. But Christians don't have to participate individually. And if the situation becomes dire enough, it may trigger prophesied religious developments.
Eating, drinking, and dressing are carried to such excess that they become crimes, and are among the marked sins of the last days, and constitute a sign of Christ's soon coming. Time, money, and strength, which are the Lord's, but which He has entrusted to us, are wasted in needless superfluities of dress, and luxuries for the perverted appetite, which lessen vitality and bring suffering and decay. It is impossible to present our bodies a living sacrifice to God, when they are filled with corruption and disease by our own sinful indulgence. (Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 61)
From:
The Trumpet Herald
Giving the trumpet a certain sound
March 2008
Source: http://www.projectrestore.com/trumpet/tpt2008_03.htm