Merrill chief sees severe global slowdown

The global economy is entering a slowdown of epic proportions, comparable to the Great Depression, John Thain, chairman and chief executive of Merrill Lynch, warned on Tuesday.
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"Right now, the US economy is contracting very rapidly. We are looking at a period of global slowdown, and a global slowdown in economic activity that affects everyone who participates in global markets," he told investors. "This is not like 1987 or 1998 or 2001. The contraction going on is bigger than that. We will in fact look back to the 1929 period to see the kind of slowdown we're seeing now."

--- Greg Farrell in the Financial Times, 11.11.08