An overheating economy, characterized by accelerating inflation and rising interest rates, is another precondition for recession. This doesn't describe today's economy.

The extension and expansion of the payroll tax holidays for workers would be number one on my list and key to avoiding recession.

The principal linkages between Japan and the U.S. global economies are trade, financial markets, and commodity markets.

There is a banking adage that if it's growing like a weed, it's a good chance that it's a weed.

Yes. I don't think it would be appropriate at this point to raise taxes on anyone, certainly not in 2011.

In a forbearance, the homeowner pays interest and principal on a smaller mortgage, at least for a time, but still owes the full amount. The lower monthly payment helps with affordability, giving stressed homeowners a break.

Defaulting on the nation's debt would be cataclysmic. The U.S. Treasury's Aaa rating is the one constant in the world's financial system. When times are bad anywhere on the planet, global investors flock to Treasury bonds because they know they will get their money back.