Recessions normally last two or three quarters so this one has already lasted two. Before recessions start, property prices fall. In the older economies (like the US or the UK) prices of property started to fall in 2007, and there are signs that the fall is slowing down. It won’t be long before they stabilise or even start rising. Another characteristic of recessions is that unemployment rises. The peak in unemployment is nearly always after the recession has ended but of course for those affected the pain is real.

The banking crisis was not really the cause of the recession just part of it. The suggested danger that the collapse would pull the world order down was a little exaggerated. Now banks are lending to each other again, but the banks need to rebuild their capital base to allow them to lend to businesses and people. When that happens, it will be people who will turn things round. Putting off purchasing things is understandable given the news but eventually consumers will start spending and a more normal world will follow.