So the net worth of US households is up $1.1 trillion in the first quarter. And that means the US is well and truly on the road to recovery, right? Wrong. According to the Federal Reserve data, that's based almost entirely on the rise of the US stock market in the first quarter, and it's headed south since. Indeed, there are now warnings the situation is worse than it was two years ago.
Nassim Taleb, professor and best selling author of The Black Swan has told CNBC that it's much worse than it was in 2008 with debt spreading now "like cancer". He says there was less debt cumulatively two years ago and today we have more risk and a smaller tax base because fewer are employed.
Add the warning from financier George Soros that we have "just entered Act II of the crisis" with the crisis in Europe going from bad to worse. He says the world economy is now "eerily" reminiscent of the 1930s when governments were under pressure to narrow their budget deficits at a time when the economic recovery is weak.
It all means one thing: forget the economic cheer squads, there is no prospect of any recovery for some time.
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