Has US economy sunk deeper into recession?

Bleak housing data showed the United States and Britain were sinking deeper into recession and authorities from Washington to Tokyo worked hard to spend their way out of the worst downturn in decades.

Japan's government on Wednesday approved its biggest-ever budget to revive its economy while US President-elect Barack Obama sought to clinch a deal with congressional lawmakers on a massive stimulus package even before the Christmas Day.

"Japan cannot avoid the tsunami of the world recession, but it can try to find a way out," Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso said announcing the budget.

"The world economy is in a once-in-a-hundred years recession. We need extraordinary measures to deal with an extraordinary situation," he said.

A record drop in U.S. existing home sales and prices last month reported on Tuesday showed the world's biggest economy was on track for what one Federal Reserve official said could be the longest downturn since the World War Two. Housing is at the root of the U.S. slump and the global malaise and economists expect the economy to decline much more in the current quarter after a 0.5 percent contraction in the third quarter. Britain, the world's fifth-largest economy, is in an equally dire shape.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said house prices were set to fall by 10 percent next year, confirming the bleak outlook after Tuesday's data showed the economy shrinking by 0.6 percent in the third quarter.

The relentless flow of bad news overshadowed rescue efforts and prompted a warning from European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet that investors could be overlooking the importance of steps already taken by policymakers.

Japan had its share of gloom this week, reporting a record drop in exports -- the mainstay of an economy dogged by weak consumer spending -- and a similarly sharp collapse in business sentiment.

RECORD BUDGET FOR JAPAN

Grim data and warnings from the central bank that the worst may not be over fanned expectations that it will cut its key rate to zero from 0.1 percent and revive a policy of flooding banks with interest free cash it abandoned just two years ago.

Doing its part, Japan's cabinet approved a record 88.5 trillion yen ($980.6 billion) budget for the next fiscal year starting in April. The plan boosts overall spending, excluding debt servicing costs, by 9 percent compared to this year's initial budget and aims to accommodate part of 12 trillion yen in extra spending on government stimulus packages.

Source: Agencies