Nokia’s Ollila says financial crisis near peak

Jorma Ollila, the chairman of Nokia and Shell, said on Wednesday the financial market crisis was near its peak, but there was no clear solution to the situation.
"We have approached the peak, if we are not there yet … but there really is no clear way out from this complicated situation and that is what's causing the uncertainty," Ollila told Finnish national broadcaster YLE.
Ollila, one of the top European business leaders, said the United States was likely to face "a longer than usual" recession.
"Growth will not only slow down, it will be negative for the next year and a half, a couple of years. I don't believe in a fast recovery next year," Ollila said.
Growth in Europe will be hit too, he added. "It's not completely clear yet whether we are entering a time of negative growth, but anyhow there will be a period of slow growth in Europe," Ollila said in a Finnish language interview recorded on Wednesday.