Zandi: Recession will end this year

Moody’s economist also says housing will not be ‘an early source of growth’ in this recovery.

First, the good news. Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Economy.com, believes the Great Recession will end this year.

If that’s true, that will surely be welcomed by just about everyone. During this difficult economic period, more than 8 million jobs have been lost. Housing starts have dropped to an annualized level of 500,000 units, down from more than 2 million in 2005. Banks large and small have failed.

“This recession has been the longest, most severe and the broadest-based than any recession since the Great Depression, hence the moniker ‘The Great Recession,’” said Zandi in a teleconference yesterday on “The State of the Coming Recovery.” But such economic turmoil should end sometime in 2009, he said, thanks to adjustments in consumer spending, the stabilization of the U.S. banking system, and the expected benefits of the federal stimulus package.