<em>"Greenspan also said he has seen no economic spillover effects from the slowdown in the U.S. housing market.
</em>Notice this statement is in the past tense.<em>
</em>
<p class="textBodyBlack"><em>"We are now well into the contraction period and so far we have not had any major, significant spillover effects on the American economy from the contraction in housing," he said."</em></p>
Notice this comment is present tense and he said "so far." Also notice his comments came at the end, and he made no causal connection between the housing market and the recession. He labeled the recession as part of the ordinary business cycle. Greenspan is prepping the world for the housing recession. He isn't making the connection direct because he is the one responsible for this whole mess.
Now that Greenspan has warned of the recession, expect to see some linkage with the housing market in future speeches. In those speeches, he will say the "contraction" was worse than anticipated.
