NYT: First Quarter Was New Low for World’s Developed Economies

By David Jolly

PARIS — The economies of the developed world turned in their worst quarterly showing ever in the first three months of 2009, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Monday.

The combined gross domestic products of the 30 countries in the organization fell by 2.1 percent in the January-March period from the previous quarter. If that preliminary estimate holds, it would be the largest drop since 1960, when records were first kept. The G.D.P. of member countries fell 2 percent in the last quarter of 2008. (more)