The U.S. economy is in a recession or extended economic slowdown, with income growth slumping and employment falling.  This slowdown was precipitated by troubles in the U.S. housing market.  Over-leveraged mortgage-backed securities were used to finance an over-heated U.S. housing industry and as home values began to decline,  many of the nation’s largest financial institutions have been pushed toward insolvency, particularly large investment banking concerns who are holding investments in mortgages.  As housing values fall, a crisis in credit and liquidity has developed, prompting the Administration and Congress to put together an emergency measure for rescuing U.S. financial institutions, if not the U.S. economy itself from a financial meltdown.  Impacts of this crisis will continue to ripple through the economy.  Troubles in the U.S. housing sector and financial markets  are translating into falling construction activity throughout the U.S.  Some states are being much more affected by this construction slowdown than others. Missoula and other areas in Montana are experiencing spillovers from this nation-wide slowdown.  How much we will be impacted will hinge upon how long the economic persists and deepens and the success of measures to counter it.