Headline News: Recession fear batters Wall Street

So, the market closed down today because people are afraid we might be heading for a recession?... I don't get it... Seriously... We ARE in a recession - HELLO!!! Am I the only person on the planet that believes we are already in a recession? I think the markets are just whacked out and nobody is able to think rationally. How many times do we have to take a hit to our portfolios for the same bad news?

Let's review some of the facts:

1. We've had several bank failures over the last 2 months including Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers....
2. The home mortgage institutions have undergone a $200 billion infusion of capital to keep them operational.
3. The mortgage insurance firm, AIG, is now 80% owned by the government due to the fact that it no longer had the funds to operate and it was moving towards insolvency. AIG has since been thrown out of the Dow Jones Industrials and replaced with Kraft Foods.
4. Home foreclosures are at the highest rate in the last 70 years.
5. The federal government has passed a $700 billion dollar stimulus package to help out the financial institutions and get the credit markets healthy again. Depending on who you listen to, this is just the tip of the ice berg - the total bill could reach over $3 trillion.
6. The US automakers are in a total state of collape and are looking to the federal government for a $50 billion relief package to get them through this period. Production of many car models has been stopped until the buying continues.
7. US retailers are reporting the worst start to the Christmas season that they have seen in a long time.
   
8. Unemployment is at the highest rate in the last 15 years.
9. The markets are down by 40% from the beginning of the year with huge swings in investor confidence.
10. Oil has just come off a record high of over $140 / barrel. The ripple effect that this has had throughout our economy has been tremendous. Although oil prices are down below $70 / barrel at the present, the effects of the price hikes due to the higher oil prices have not subsided.

I could go on and on about how screwed up everything is right now but I think that you all get the picture. With this all said, am I still the only one that thinks we are already in a recession?

Hello, wake up and smell the toast burning folks!