By Friday, we will know a lot about the U.S. economy.  We will have a better idea of what John Fogerty meant by "I see the bad moon a-risin'."  Maybe we won't see "earthquakes and lightnin'," but bad economic reports are apparently coming.  Of course, if we see earthquakes and lighting, then they'll blame that on fossil fuels.

My guess is that bad news is coming, as CNN is telling us:

Expect several key reports this week on US economic health and consumer prices to offer a glimpse of how bad things could get. 

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve is also expected to raise interest rates again in an attempt to tame inflation, though some experts think the Fed's new aggressive strategy came too late and risks tipping the economy into a recession.

And there's more:

The latest Consumer Confidence Index from the Conference Board is due to be released Tuesday, after last month's report showed souring confidence in the face of high gas and food prices and rising recession risks. Another closely watched snapshot of data — the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, which charts changes in the prices of goods and services bought by US consumers — is out on Friday.

And then there is the GDP report coming on Thursday.  According to the experts, this is the report that will confirm whether or not we are officially in a recession.  I'm sure you remember your old economics professor saying two consecutive quarters of negative growth equals a recession.  We may have that dreaded R-word in the newscasts soon.

Of course, The White House is dancing around the experts and saying that this recession is different.  In other words, they want to create a new definition because two consecutive quarters of negative growth does not apply to our situation today.

In the meantime, some mom is fuming at the grocery store because the money just does not buy as much as it did when the "tweeter" was in office.

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