Over breakfast today, The Rainmaker Network was hit over the head by a rolled-up USA Today while ordering pancakes at a local breakfast joint.

Apparently the economy is "officially in recession."

What does that mean for our Rainmakers?

It means that crisis is beginning to give way to a sense of opportunity...that a world in crisis means a chance for greatness.

Our Rainmakers are urged to follow their hearts and choose career paths that they are most passionate about. Want to be an executive chef for one of the world's leading computer companies? Check. Want to mobilize faith groups all over the world while eliminating poverty housing and homelessness? Check. Whatever your hearts desire, The Rainmaker Network aims to make your dreams a reality. Log on to find out more....but in the meantime, read the USA Today's article below and bring yourself up to date on the economy. It's not only our current reality but it's your future in the making.


Official recession news hammers Dow

The Dow Jones industrial average suffered its fourth-worst point loss ever, plunging 679.95 points, or 7.7%, to 8149.09. The Dow, which had enjoyed its biggest five-session percentage gain since 1932 heading into Monday, gave back 87% of those gains. The Dow is now down 38.6% this year.

Historically, stocks have hit bottom five or six months before the official end of a recession. Due to the credit crunch and global nature of this downturn, however, Wall Street is bracing for a recession more severe than the 16-month-long downturns that began in 1973 and 1981, says Jeffrey Kleintop, chief market strategist at LPL Financial.

The recession began in December 2007, the last month that U.S. employers added jobs, says the National Bureau of Economic Research's committee of economists, which dates business cycles. Firms cut 1.2 million workers in 2008 through October. November data, due Friday, will likely show more cuts. Bernanke noted the economy "remains under considerable stress" because of a sharp drop in consumer spending, a worsening job market, a moribund housing sector and tight credit. "The likely duration of the financial turmoil is difficult to judge," he said. "But even if the functioning of financial markets continues to improve, economic conditions will probably remain weak for a time."

Fed policymakers are expected to cut interest rates in two weeks. But with their target for short-term rates at 1%, the Fed may be forced to take non-traditional actions to increase the amount of money in circulation to boost the economy, Bernanke said.

The National Bureau of Economic Research panel looks at a series of data, including gross domestic product, income, employment, industrial production and retail sales, to determine an official recession. The economy contracted July to September at the fastest pace in seven years.

The Institute for Supply Management's gauge of manufacturing activity fell in November to the lowest level in 26 years as orders, production and jobs all fell. Paulson said further weakening in the economy "threatens to prolong the housing correction," which is at the root of the economy's problems.

"My guess is we'll have some tough sledding for a while," FedEx CEO Fred Smith told USA TODAY.