Glum Forecast

At least one prominent strategist is using the R word.

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.’s chief economist, Edward Yardeni, cut his 1998, 1999 and 2000 earnings estimates Monday for Standard & Poor’s 500 companies on expectations that recessions in Asia and Russia will spread to the U.S. and Europe by 2000.

Yardeni slashed his S&P; estimate for 1998 to $44.00 per index “share” from $46.15, for 1999 to $43.25 from $46.15, and for 2000 to $33 from $33.65.

Asia’s economic slowdown and the meltdown in Russia’s financial markets are likely to spread to Latin America and most commodity-producing countries, leading to a recession worldwide, he said.

“I sincerely doubt corporations will be able to deliver such good profits with so much of the world’s economy falling into a recession,” Yardeni said in a report to clients.