IS THE UNITED STATES IN A RECESSION? IF SO, HOW SEVERE WILL IT BE?

Two-thirds of economists surveyed by USA Today believe the U.S. is in a recession currently and 79% believe the U.S. will enter a recessionary period at some point in 2008. Most of these economists predict a short, shallow recession. On the other hand, Warren Buffett is on record as saying the U.S. is already in a recession and yesterday stated that "the recession will be longer and deeper than most people think."

USA Today - ECONOMISTS SAY U.S. IS IN A RECESSION
USA Today - BUFFETT: ECONOMY IN A RECESSION, WILL BE WORSE THAN FEARED

BUFFETT WORLD'S RICHEST PERSON

Warren Buffett passed this good friend Bill Gates and Mexican telecom monopolist Carlos Slim Helu to become the world's richest person with $62 billion in wealth.

From Forbes:

The number 13 has long been considered unlucky by superstitious people around the globe. How fitting, then, that Bill Gates' reign as the world's richest person ends after his 13th year at the top.

Despite being worth $58 billion, $2 billion more than last year, Gates is now just the world's third-richest person, ceding the top spot ranking to his good friend and partner in philanthropy, Warren Buffett, whose net worth jumped $10 billion to $62 billion. (All stock prices and net worth valuations were locked in on Feb. 11.) Ranked No. 2 is Mexican telecom tycoon Carlos Slim Helú, whose fortune has doubled in just two years to $60 billion.

WARREN BUFFETT SAYS U.S. IS IN A RECESSION

Although the technical definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative growth in GDP, so it is not yet possible to officially declare that we are in a recession, billionaire businessman Warren Buffett told CNBC that the United States is in a recession "by any common-sense definition."

From USA Today:

Billionaire Warren Buffett says the U.S. economy is essentially in a recession, even if it hasn't met the technical definition yet.

Buffett said Monday on CNBC-TV that reports he gets from the retail businesses owned by his holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, show a significant slowdown in purchases.

BUFFETT URGES CONGRESS TO KEEP ESTATE TAX

From The New York Times:

Warren E. Buffett urged Congress yesterday to maintain the estate tax, saying that plans to repeal the tax would benefit a handful of the richest American families and widen income disparity in the United States.

Mr. Buffett, the billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, told the Senate Finance Committee that advocates of repeal were “dead wrong” to call the tax a “death tax.”

It would be more appropriate to call it a “death present,” Mr. Buffett, 77, said. “A meaningful estate tax is needed to prevent our democracy from becoming a dynastic plutocracy.”

Congressional Democrats are likely to seize on Mr. Buffett’s comments to bolster their argument that repeal of the estate tax amounts to a windfall for a few wealthy families. Republicans have pushed to eliminate the tax permanently or reduce the rate and exempt more estates by raising the value at which the tax takes effect.

Mr. Buffett said that in the last 20 years, tax laws have allowed the “superrich” to become richer.

“Tax law changes have benefited this group, including me, in a huge way,” he said. “During that time the average American went exactly nowhere on the economic scale: he’s been on a treadmill while the superrich have been on a spaceship.”

The chairman of the finance committee, Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, said yesterday that fewer than 1 percent of United States households currently pay the tax. He said repeal lacked support in the Senate and the purpose of the hearing was to solicit ideas for replacing the shifting rules and uncertainty of the current system.

PROGRESSIVE ADDS PETS TO AUTO INSURANCE

From AP via MSN:

Progressive Corp. is providing collision coverage for customers' dogs or cats at no additional premium cost. It will pay up to $500 if a customer's dog or cat is hurt or dies in a car accident.

There are over 150 million pets in the U.S., and Americans spend over $40 billion on their pets annually, according to a recent Insurance Information Institute study.

The Progressive benefit has been in place since Sept. 6, and it's still too soon to determine if the company's undetermined cost of offering it will be offset by better sales, Progressive spokeswoman Leah Knapp said.

Progressive is the third-biggest auto insurer, ranking behind State Farm and Allstate and slightly ahead of National Indemnity (Berkshire Hathaway), which includes GEICO.

GATES TOPS FORBES 400 RICHEST AMERICANS

No surprise here. Bill Gates is the richest American with $59 billion and Warren Buffett is second with $52 billion.

You can view the full rankings at Forbes.com.

This list includes only Americans. Interested in who is wealthier, Bill Gates or Mexican telephone mogul Carlos Slim Helú? As of August 31, 2007, they were even. Check out this article at Forbes.com for details.

CARLOS SLIM HELU WORLD'S SECOND-RICHEST MAN

Carlos Slim Helu has passed Warren Buffett and now ranks just behind Bill Gates as the world's second-richest man. The Mexican telecom tycoon earned $4 billion in the past two months and is less than $3 billion away from taking the number one spot from Gate.

Forbes.com

GATES AND BUFFETT STILL TOP FORBES RICHEST LIST

Bill Gates is the world's richest man for the 13th year in a row and his pal Warren Buffett is second once again, but Mexican businessman Carlos Slim Helu is quickly gaining ground on both men and may be poised to take the crown next year. Helu gained an amazing $19 billion last year and now sits only $7 billion below Gates and $3 billion below Buffett.

From USA Today:

After a 20-year reign, Japan is no longer Asia's top spot for billionaires: India has 36, worth a total of $191 billion, followed by Japan with 24, worth a combined $64 billion. India's rich are also marching toward the top of our rankings. Brothers Mukesh and Anil Ambani, who split up their family's conglomerate in 2005, join Lakshmi Mittal, who heads the world's biggest steel company, Arcelor Mittal, among the world's 20 wealthiest. India now has three in the upper echelons, second only to the U.S.

Ingenuity, not industry, is the common characteristic; these folks made money in everything from media and real estate to coffee, dumplings and ethanol. Two-thirds of last year's billionaires are richer. Only 17% are poorer, including 32 who fell below the billion-dollar mark. The billionaires' combined net worth climbed by $900 billion to $3.5 trillion. That equates to $3.6 billion apiece.

The average billionaire is 62 years old, two years younger than in 2005. This year's new billionaires are seven years younger than that. Of list members' fortunes, 60% made theirs from scratch.

Forbes pinned down a record 946 billionaires. There were 178 newcomers, including 19 Russians, 14 Indians, 13 Chinese and 10 Spaniards, as well as the first billionaires from Cyprus, Oman, Romania and Serbia.