New financial crisis unlikely, ADB says

SINGAPORE >> Asia's economies will continue to suffer from their exposure to the struggling U.S. economy, but the region is unlikely to be hurt by a major financial crisis, the Asian Development Bank said in a report released today.

Growth "might pick up" toward the middle of next year, rather than late this year or early next year as previously expected, it said, however.

"The 11th of September attacks and subsequent events, as you all know, have introduced an additional element of uncertainty to an already weakening economy," said Pradumna Rana, a manager from ADB's Asia Economic Monitor.

There is a growing consensus that the Sept. 11 attacks have pushed the United States into recession, which most analysts believe will be "mild and short-lived," the report stated.

The bank's report was released hours before the National Bureau of Economic Research, the U.S. arbiter of economic cycles, said the United States entered a recession in March.

The NBER did not predict how long the U.S. recession might last.

Administration pushes tax cuts in stimulus plan

WASHINGTON >> Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and the president's top economic adviser urged the Senate to pass an economic stimulus plan focused on tax cuts rather than spending when it returns to Washington later this week.

O'Neill and White House Economic Adviser Lawrence Lindsey said the economic proposals made by President Bush would aid companies, including insurers, hurt by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The stimulus legislation is being debated amid signs of a slowdown in the U.S. economy.