The slump in global credit markets is likely to force banks, brokerages and hedge funds to cut lending by $2 trillion, triggering the risk of a ``substantial recession'' in the U.S., according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Losses related to record U.S. home foreclosures using a ``back-of-the-envelope'' calculation may be as high as $400 billion for financial companies, Jan Hatzius, chief economist at Goldman in New York wrote in a report dated yesterday. The effects may be amplified tenfold as companies that borrowed to finance their investments scale back lending, the report said.
``The likely mortgage credit losses pose a significantly bigger macroeconomic risk than generally recognized,'' Hatzius wrote. ``It is easy to see how such a shock could produce a substantial recession'' or ``a long period of very sluggish growth,'' he wrote....MORE
