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Americans aware economy is in recession: Paulson

WASHINGTON
Mon Dec 1, 2008 3:58pm EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Monday Americans were aware that the economy was in recession, adding that the best way to deal with the downturn was to stabilize the distressed financial system.

"The thing we have known, I have known, is we are in an economy that has slowed down significantly. The American people know that and I think the American people have known that for some time, so I don't think this is going to be big news," he said in response to a question at the Fortune 500 Forum.

"They have known the economy is slowing down and we have focused on it and everything I am doing to address the slowdown the best way I know how, is to stabilize the financial system."

Earlier, the independent National Bureau of Economic Research's business cycle dating committee declared the U.S. economy slipped into recession in December 2007.

(Reporting by Glenn Somerville; writing by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Dan Grebler)


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