UN

Joining the chorus of U.S. recession-watchers, the World Bank and the U.N. jumped in with their own analysis. The World Bank sees a finite global impact, as "emerging markets will act as shock absorbers for the global economy, cushioning the impact of the US downturn and ensuring the world continues to grow at a decent rate this year," according to the Financial Times.

The U.N is not so sanguine, writes AFP: "A further slowdown in the world's major economy will hit many of the poor nations hard, as it will slow world trade and put an end to the boom in commodity prices that benefited them over the past years."

World Bank - Global Economics Prospects 2008
Financial Times - Emerging markets 'to help ease downturn'
U.N. - World Economic Situation and Prospects 2008
Agence France-Presse - US slowdown could spark global economic recession
Financial Times - U.N. warns of US recession threat