Is the U.S. economy in a recession or not? Check the "official" opinion at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) atwww.nber.org/data

(Links to an external site.)

Link to the official Business Cycle Dates.How does NBER select the beginning or end of a recession? What period in U.S. economic history was the longest expansion? Contraction? Look at theAnnouncements Datessection toward the bottom of the page. How much of a time lag is there between when a peak or a trough occurs and when it is announced? What implication does this have for investors?