E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Ford Motor Co. and Intel Corp. disagree with Caterpillar Inc.’s warning of a recession next year, Bloomberg reported.

With the nation in the midst of a major housing slump, Caterpillar lowered its 2007 profit forecast on Oct. 19 and said the economy would be “near to, or even in, recession” next year.

Delaware-based DuPont reported an 8.5 percent increase in third-quarter earnings, due to increasing international demand for seeds and Kevlar, and anticipates that earnings will climb as much as 10 percent in 2008.

For 2008, “we’re assuming global GDP growth at about the same rate as 2007, strong agricultural business and no U.S. recession,” DuPont Chief Executive Officer Charles Holliday Jr. said in an earnings conference call on Oct. 23. “We have no expectations of an uptick in demand from U.S. residential housing market this quarter or even next year.’

Intel, based in Santa Clara, Calif., reported a gain of 43 percent for third-quarter earnings on Oct. 16. Paul Otellini, CEO of Intel, said that U.S. buyers of computers don’t seem concerned about the economy.

Ford Motor Co. CEO Allen Mulally said that he is optimistic because of recent actions taken by the Federal Reserve. He said the U.S. economy is growing and he hopes that the subprime and housing market will improve.