So Much for the Touted "Green Shoots"

A lot of people have been running around for the last two months claiming that the US recession has hit bottom and things are looking up. They are eager to claim that things have turned a corner and they see "green shoots" signaling a recovery.

Unfortunately, facts are not on their side. From posts at Calculated Risk, seven banks were seized by FDIC today as bankrupt:

52 US banks have gone bankrupt this year. Seven of those bankruptcies occurred today:

1) Founders Bank of Worth, Illinois had total assets of $962.5 million and total deposits of approximately $848.9 million

2) Millennium State Bank of Dallas, Texas had total assets of approximately $118 million and total deposits of $115 million

3) The Elizabeth State Bank of Elizabeth, Illinois had total assets of $55.5 million and total deposits of approximately $50.4 million

4) The First National Bank of Danville, Illinois had total assets of $166 million and total deposits of approximately $147 million

5) The John Warner Bank of Clinton, Illinois had total assets of $70 million and total deposits of approximately $64 million

6) The First State Bank of Winchester, Illinois had total assets of $36 million and total deposits of approximately $34 million

7) Rock River Bank of Oregon, Illinois had total assets of $77 million and total deposits of approximately $75.8 million

Also, from Calculated Risk, here is a picture of how bad this recession/depression is "so far" compared to previous severe recessions in the post-WWII era. There is no sign of a bottom in job losses in this graph.

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Another 467,000 jobs were lost in June. The graph does not show any "bottom" forming. As of June, the official employment fell by 467,000 bringing the unemployment rate to 9.5%. Most economists are now saying that unemployment will peak somewhere between 10% and 11% and that won't happen until sometime early in 2010.

I'm more than ready for a turnaround. The official "end" to this recession is expected to occur during the next 3 months. But the economists are warning that you won't feel better fast. It will take 2 or 3 years before you really feel that the nightmare is over.