While the Europeans generally hope to suffer only a mild slowing of economic growth, U.S. business continues to reel downward. Initial indicators showed last week that the American economy in the second quarter is declining at roughly an 8% annual rate, the second steepest drop since the Depression and the worst since early 1975, when the nation's business plummeted 9.1%. Labor Secretary Ray Marshall predicted that unemployment could reach 8.5% early in 1981, much higher than the 7.2% peak that the Administration had originally forecast. Housing continued to be one of the economy's weakest sectors, as new home starts plunged 11%...
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