When will it end?

I’m referring to the recession – the most challenging economic period since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Already some pundits are claiming that the recession is behind us, but I suggest that only an economist could find that claim plausible – and then only based on esoteric measures that the average person would glean little comfort from. The National Bureau of Economic Research defines a recession as "a significant decline in economic activity spread across the country, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP growth, real personal income, employment (non-farm payrolls), industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales”. Quite a mouthful, and probably unintelligible to the vast majority of people.

If indeed the recession is about to end in an official sense, I suggest that the constraining effects on most of us will still have quite some time to run. In the meantime, we need to remain focused on good business fundamentals and quality of service – and take the opportunity to re-examine our basic principles and remember those things that made us successful in the first place.

Good luck!

Steve Smith
President