Thursday, October 22, 2009

Technically "the Great Recession" is Over.

In order to be in recession by definition requires two consecutive quarters of negative growth. As we experienced positive growth in the 3rd quarter, technically we are no longer in recession. This is not to say that there won't be another downturn or another negative quarter in the near future, but according to the definition of a recession we are no longer in recession. So all you Chicken Little's who have been running around screaming "Great Recession" can shut up! Your "Great Recession" lasted two quarters, or half a year for you lay folk. By contrast the "Great Depression" lasted roughly 45 quarters, not 2 quarters.

The good news does not surprise me because I have been announcing good news since March. What shocked me is that the CBC reported it! I am frustrated that the media and many of the pundits seem to have become allergic to good news.

While I am comfortable telling people that the sky is not falling, my concern that Obama and Pelosi could collapse the greenback has not gone away. "Cap and tax" could still scuttle North American forward progress.

5 comments:

  1. I would feel a lot more comfortable if Giuliani or Romney were piloting the Hindenburg down south.

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  2. Oh, there's Gerard Kennedy on my TV. Do you think anyone told Gerry the economic good news today?

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  3. Even the "Bob Rae Recession" dwarfs the "the Great Recession"! If this one was so great, what would they call the "Bob Rae Recession" today? The economic Holocaust?

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  4. Well to be fair to the terminology - here it was a significant economic reversal, but south of the border it was economic armageddon.

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  5. To be honest with you, if I hadn't watched the news at all this year, I wouldn't have noticed a downturn at all. Being from Manitoba (we remain flat through the good times AND bad, much like our landscape!), it kind of seemed like business as usual. Just my 2 cents...

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