Could Hurricane Gustav Cause a Recession?
Could Hurricane Gustav Cause a Recession? Monday September 1, 2008#spacer{clear:left}#abc #sidebar{margin-top:1.5em}zSB(3,3) Dog waits for rescue after Hurricane Katrina (Credit: Chris Graythen / Getty Images) At its height, Hurricane Gustav was a Category 4, less than Hurricane Katrina’s Category 5. At landfall, Gustav has been reclassified to a Category 2 storm, again less than Hurricane Katrina’s Category 3. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina cost the economy $125 billion. GDP growth dipped from 3.8% in Q3 to 1.3% in Q4. Since the economy was still growing strongly, by Q1 2006 GDP growth had bounced back to a robust 4.8%. This year, with the economy struggling to escape a slump, a 1% decline could throw the GDP growth rate into negative territory. When combined with the negative growth rate in Q4 2007,
#spacer{clear:left}#abc #sidebar{margin-top:1.5em}zSB(3,3) Dog waits for rescue after Hurricane Katrina (Credit: Chris Graythen / Getty Images) At its height, Hurricane Gustav was a Category 4, less than Hurricane Katrina’s Category 5. At landfall, Gustav has been reclassified to a Category 2 storm, again less than Hurricane Katrina’s Category 3. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina cost the economy $125 billion. GDP growth dipped from 3.8% in Q3 to 1.3% in Q4. Since the economy was still growing strongly, by Q1 2006 GDP growth had bounced back to a robust 4.8%. This year, with the economy struggling to escape a slump, a 1% decline could throw the GDP growth rate into negative territory. When combined with the negative growth rate in Q4 2007, this would qualify as a technical recession. For more on the poten
