Moody's Chief Economist: The US economy is on the brink of recession Mark Zandi, Chief Economist of Moody's Analytics, warned last Monday after a series of weak economic data that the US economy is on the brink of recession. The latest indicators show that the economy is stagnating, consumer spending has stagnated, the construction and manufacturing industries are shrinking, and employment is expected to weaken. Meanwhile, high inflation further complicates the policy support that the Federal Reserve may introduce.