GDP growth rate will be negative for Q1 2009?

Gross domestic product -- a gauge of the U.S. economy that measures all goods and services produced by U.S. businesses -- slid an annual rate of 3.8% in the fourth quarter last year from the previous quarter. The GDP nosedive was the largest in 26 years as consumers pulled back spending on cars and furniture and sales of software and equipment tanked.

With the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping below 7500 for the first time since mid-September and bellweathers like Hewlett-Packard expecting revenue declines for the year, there's little hope of a quick turnaround. Economists are revising their Q1 2009 GDP forecasts downward.

Prediction: The growth rate of the GDP will be negative for the first quarter of 2009. This prediction will use the Bureau of Economic Analysis' preliminary estimates which will be released around the end of April.