US economy "in recession"

And we will be very very soon. The Sunday Times reports that "AMERICA’s economy is definitely in recession, economists say, amid growing fears that the credit crunch is entering its most dangerous phase. Figures on Friday showing a second successive monthly fall in US employment sealed the question of whether America had entered its first recession since the 2001 downturn. The US lost 63,000 jobs in February, said the Department of Labor, amid the fastest fall in private-sector jobs in five years. The decline, which followed a 22,000 drop in January, the first fall in more than four years, surprised many economists who had been expecting a slight rise. Manufacturers and construction companies led the decline as they absorbed the costs of the housing slump. “The debate is over,” said Paul Ashworth, senior US economist at Capital Economics. “The 63,000 decline in nonfarm pay-rolls in February is near-conclus-ive proof that the economy is now in recession.” "


How long can the Dyspepsic Duo - Brown and Darling - keep up the pretence that the UK is "is stronger placed to weather the coming global financial turbulence"?