The run-up in oil prices just as the economy was slouching toward recession has certainly compounded the industry's problems.

Some fear that such a jolt could help push the already staggering American economy toward recession.

That could push the American economy toward recession.

Such a resolution means that action could come this month if fresh data show that the economy is indeed sliding toward recession.

It almost certainly adds to the 1989 impulse toward recession in the economy.

But then, the 1990 budget agreement, which cut spending and increased taxes, helped pull down the economy when it was already sliding toward recession.

That view gave way in the spring and early summer to predictions of a slide toward recession.

But there is no real guarantee that it will, especially if the nation slides toward recession.

He argued that stocks were also down because "we're still slipping toward recession as a result of pressure on profits."

In addition, the rest of the world is also easing toward recession.