You have to wonder what planet George Bush is on.

In his Labor Day address, the President said the economy was on the upswing, largely thanks to the $93 billion worth of tax rebates. "The growth package will return more than $150 billion back to American families and businesses this year. Many Americans who received tax rebates are spending them. Businesses are taking advantage of tax incentives to purchase new equipment this year. And there are signs that the stimulus package will continue to have a beneficial impact on the economy in the second half of the year."

Yeah right! If economies were that simple, recessions would never happen. The trouble with tax concessions is always the same: what happens when all that extra money is spent?

As the Organisation for Economic Development and Co-operation said: "In the United States, uncertainty as to the extent of weakness hinges importantly on how rapidly the effects of temporary fiscal stimulus will fade."

Investor Mark Faber, author of the Boom, Gloom&Doom report has told Bloomberg that the signs are not looking good with the decline in crude symptomatic of the economic slowdown in the US and Europe.

"In the U.S., if statistics were compiled properly, the economy would be in recession. Same in Europe. Oil coming down is a symptom of economic weakness.''

Add to that the warning from Federal Reserve Board Governor Randall Kroszner that the struggling US economy will drag the rest of the world down.