Why is it so hard to say if this is a recession?
Economists were on high alert Thursday morning awaiting data from the U.S. Commerce Department that might shed light on whether the country is in a recession — a question with vast implications for consumers, employers and electoral politics.
The data showed gross domestic product declining at an annualized rate of 0.9% in the second quarter, after a 1.6% contraction in the first quarter. Back-to-back quarters of negative growth is one commonly used benchmark of recession.
That settles that, right?
Not quite.
Weighing against
