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Obama to inherit feeble economy awash in red ink

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-11-05 14:01

WASHINGTON -- To the victor goes the mess. Barack Obama's presidential election victory comes with an albatross of a prize -- an economy beset by a stubborn housing slump and the worst financial crisis in 70 years.

In this Sept. 12, 2008 file photo, James Ross works the assembly line making Chrysler's new 2009 Dodge Ram pickup at the Warren Truck Plant in Warren, Mich. The government said Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008, factory orders dropped for the second straight month in September as businesses cut back on purchases of steel, computers and other equipment amid the economic downturn. [Agencies]

Consumers and businesses are sharply reducing their spending and the government is awash in red ink.

"He will inherit an economy that is in recession and ... is likely to get worse before it gets better," said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist for PNC Financial Services.

The current administration on Wednesday will detail its plans to borrow a record $550 billion in the final three months of the year as a down payment for the various financial rescue packages put into effect in response to the global crisis.

A Treasury Department official on Monday projected the government would need to borrow an additional $368 billion in the first quarter of 2009. Treasury is expected to bring back its three-year notes to help cover the increased borrowing needs.

Still, investors seemed to draw hope Tuesday from the selection of a new presidential administration, while shrugging off the latest in a series of grim economic reports. The Dow Jones industrial average surged more than 300 points. The Dow and the other major stock indexes all finished with gains of more than 3 percent.

As election results were being announced in the US, Asian stocks rallied early Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average climbed 2.9 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged 6.1 percent. South Korea's Kospi jumped 5.5 percent.

Futures trading also initially indicated a slightly firmer opening for Wall Street stocks on Wednesday. Dow futures rose 15, or 0.2 percent, to 9,602 shortly after news emerged of Obama's election win.

Analysts said investors appeared to be looking forward to the end of political uncertainty and hoping the new US president will move to boost the economy, which got another bit of dismal news Tuesday.

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