ECONOMICS

Trade group projects U.S. unemployment soaring to 9%
A forecast by the National Association for Business Economics points to U.S. unemployment hitting 9% and the economy shrinking by 1.9% this year. If the forecast is on target, the recession will be the worst since 1982. Forbes/The Associated Press (23 Feb.)

Thailand to launch $56 billion economic stimulus
Recording the most severe drop in key exports, Thailand is getting ready to implement a $56 billion stimulus, to be rolled out over five years. The country's exports dropped by more than 26% in January. Financial Times (20 Feb.)

Bank lending still mostly frozen, U.K. manufacturers say
A Financial Times survey of British manufacturers found that government efforts to loosen up bank lending to businesses have largely failed. Of 55 companies, only two said the availability of credit has increased. Financial Times (23 Feb.)

Analysis: Investors' skepticism, fear completely fair
Investors have every right to fear, given the difficulty of determining the true value of assets, Edward Hadas writes. Economic policies can easily take the U.S. in two "radically different but equally disastrous directions, with almost diametrically opposed implications for asset prices," he writes. The New York Times (22 Feb.)