Doubts about Recession in NE

The latest regional survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston suggests New England businesses are feeling uneasy about the economy, but they're not expecting a recession.

Katherine Bradbury, senior economist at the Boston Fed, said businesses are proceeding cautiously, but that nobody is particularly downbeat.

"it's quite different to be uncertain than to be certain you're headed into a recession or certain that things are going to be a lot worse," Bradbury said. "You know, we're not seeing that."

An economist at the Lexington research firm, Global Insight, Brian Bethune, agrees. He said manufacturing and commercial real estate are faring better here than in other parts of the country, so New England is not the most vulnerable region.

"If anything, it will be dragged kicking and screaming into a recession," said Bethune.