GreenSpan sees U.S in Pale Recession

May 5 (Bloomberg) -- Former Federal Reserve Chairman AlanGreenspan said the U.S. has slipped into an ``awfully palerecession'' and may continue to languish for the rest of theyear. Greenspan, 82, portrayed the economy as being caught in a``tug-of-war'' between cash-rich businesses on the one hand andmoney-losing financial institutions on the other. ``This is avery unusual situation,'' he said. ``Neither side is obviouslywinning the battle.'' The former Fed chief said a recovery won't begin until homeprices show signs of stabilizing, relieving pressure on financialfirms to write off mortgage-related losses. ``Until there are stabilized prices of homes, and I thinkthey have a good way to go down, you still have prospectivelosses'' for financial companies and investors. ``It's too soonto tell'' if the worst of the credit crunch is over, he added. Greenspan in the past has argued that the expansion of theglobal labor force brought on by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the rise of China was a powerful force bringing down global inflation. That trend is now fading as workers in the emerging markets obtain higher wages.