WHY THE UNITED STATES IS IMPORTANT TO SINGAPORE
The US is Singapore's third-largest trading partner by country.
It is also Singapore's largest foreign investor by country.
The US economy has a vital bearing on investor sentiment here, and affects the financial and real estate sectors.
KEY U.S. RECESSION FACTS
The National Bureau of Economic Research said the US economy entered a recession in December last year, which would make it the longest contraction since 1982. The last time the US was in a recession was in 2001.
If the recession lasts for another five months, it will become the longest since the Great Depression.
The euro region and Japan both fell into a slump in the second quarter of this year, making it the first simultaneous recession in the three regions in the post-war era.
The US economy shrank 0.5 per cent in the third quarter after expanding 2.8 per cent in the previous three months. Some economists predict that the US economy will contract by as much as 5 per cent in the current fourth quarter.
Other economies officially in recession: Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Ireland, Italy, Germany and Britain.