Realist? If not do not read this post!

The abyss is near - Bloomberg today.

Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Manufacturing in the U.S. contracted in November at the fastest pace in 26 years, putting American factories at the forefront of a global industrial slump emanating from the lack of credit.

The Institute for Supply Management’s factory index dropped to 36.2, the lowest level since 1982, the Tempe, Arizona-based group reported today. A reading of 50 is the dividing line between expansion and contraction. Similar measures from China, the U.K., euro area, and Russia all dropped to record lows.

The financial crisis has spiraled into a global economic downturn that’s hurt sales here and abroad, forcing manufacturers to pare production. Economists increasingly are projecting that the U.S. recession will be one of the most severe in the postwar era, putting pressure on policy makers to keep lowering interest rates and boost stimulus plans.

“This downturn in the global economy is probably more synchronized than we have ever seen,” said Jonathan Basile, an economist at credit Suisse Holdings in New York. Policy makers should “open the flood gates” to additional action, he said.