– “A recession, perhaps the deepest one in decades, may be unavoidable,” reports the Gray Lady. One of the biggest problems facing the US is more pain in the housing market. Home mortgage rates have risen in spite of the government’s bailout splurge.

– European and Asian stock markets mostly dropped today after a two-day rally. Recession is still very much on the mind of Mr. Market, it seems.

– In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index nearly 5% to close at 15,998.30. Stocks in Australia, South Korea, China, India and Singapore also sank. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, however, ending up just over 1.1% at 9,547.47.

– Meanwhile, Russia’s two main stock exchanges have suspended trading again after energy stocks lead the broader markets sharply.

– Back in the good ol’ US of A, it’s spend, spend, spend. The WSJ reports that “the federal government ran a deficit of almost $455 billion in fiscal 2008, the White House reported, a record that will likely be far exceeded by the red ink in the current fiscal year.” The budget deficit for fiscal 2007 was $162 billion.

– Gold is up in London. “Gold for immediate delivery rose $9.17 … to $845.88 an ounce as of 11:07 a.m. in London,” reports Bloomberg.

– Oil prices hit a 13-month low. Crude fell to $75.62 a barrel.