Ken Lewis, the chief executive of Bank of America said Dec. 12 that the world's biggest economy is "definitely slowing," according to a speech Lewis delivered at a financial conference. Lewis, who manages the largest U.S. banking company by market worth, also said Bank of America anticipates setting aside $3.3 billion to cover fourth quarter losses and writeoffs mainly tied to an ongoing housing slump.
"The economy is definitely slowing. We expect weak fourth and first quarters, but at this point we are not forecasting a recession," Lewis said.
"In the past month, the markets have turned down again and will probably remain challenging into next year," he said, referring to a sharp downturn in U.S. financial markets in August.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2007
