A report prepared for the government estimates, under gloomy assumptions, a 70% chance of at least one blackout in 2012 even with new capacity.
Official estimates of America's long-term budget problems, such as the shortfall in the Social Security pension system, may not change, since they are already based on very gloomy assumptions about productivity growth.
The new figure reflects gloomier assumptions about the damage to health from subsidised fossil fuels, particularly coal: recalculating the life-shortening effect of sulphur-dioxide emissions accounts for 45% of the extra $3 trillion.
Even using these gloomy growth assumptions, CBS Ts price-earnings growth (PEG) ratio comes in at a respectable 0.60.
Gloomy, gloomy, gloomy guys!
A more gloomy set of assumptions brings a projected loss for the year of nearly £1m.
But I also want to question the assumption — whether gloomy or faintly gloating — that books are on the way out.
But this gloomy prospect rests on some rosy economic assumptions.
It should be noted, however, that the gloomy Moody's analysis depends on a number of assumptions, the most important of which is that the economy is indeed currently operating at full employment.
