Take a leaf from Andy Murray's book. Have confidence and belief. We can beat this recession.
Phew. We're finally out of recession.
Foolish colleague Malcolm Wheatley covered the exciting news here, including that we've just been through the longest recession since records began in 1955, and the steepest collapse in economic output since the Great Depression of the 1920s.
If you've made it through to the other side with your job and salary intact, congratulations. For those lucky (and perhaps skilful) people, it probably didn't even feel like a fully blown recession. It certainly wouldn't have felt anything like a Depression.
On the contrary, with interest rates slashed, people with mortgages and jobs will likely have felt far better off than they'd have prior to the recession.
As their mortgage repayments fell, they'd have had more disposable income. My hope is that instead of spending their windfall on non-discretionary crap like Playstations, iPhones and exotic holidays, they instead put it on the mortgage, the goal being to pay it off quicker and/or to give themselves a buffer should they lose their job.
Do I hope in despair? Possibly.
As Tough As It Gets
For those people who've lost their job, and have little near-term prospect of rejoining the workforce, this is as tough as it gets. The economy remains incredibly weak, and remains essentially propped up by various stimulus measures.
Such measures simply cannot and will not last. But taking them away could see us with unemployment rising to well above 8% and get close to the 10% level in the US. Try getting a job then.
All this should be no surprise to regular readers of my gibber. I've long warned the recovery will be slow and somewhat anaemic. Growth of just 0.1% in the last quarter of 2009 says it all.
The Dark Days Of 2008
Wind your memory clock back to the last three months of 2008. Lehman Brothers had just collapsed. HBOS toppling over, before being saved by Lloyds Banking Group (LSE: LLOY). Unfortunately for Lloyds, the acquisition almost sunk them, and it certainly sunk both Lloyds and HBOS shareholders.
I don't know about you, but the shock of the plunging stock market immediately made me change my spending plans and habits. Spending was out and saving was in. Work-wise, more than ever, it was head down, bum up, the priority being to maximise income and minimise the chance of losing your job.
No wonder then that the last quarter of 2008 was an absolute shocker. In comparison, given low interest rates, massive government stimulus, £200 billion spent on quantitative easing and a surging stock market, you would have thought the last quarter of 2009 would show growth of just a little more than 0.1%.
But no. This is a proper recession.
The Solution To This Recession
What is the solution?
John Wright, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said on the BBC, "In order to strengthen the recovery it is important that we boost consumer confidence and demand and that interest rates are held steady as continued investment in the economy will be the key to ensuring a sustainable recovery."
Confidence is the key, something Chancellor Alistair Darling has astutely noticed, saying "we are on a path to recovery…I'm confident but I'll always remain cautious".
Of course, he would say that, as his job depends on it.
But in this instance, I'm with Mr Darling. Confident, but cautious. Realistic, but positive. My glass is half full. We've been though recessions before, and we'll get through this one, long as it may be.
If Andy Murray can do it, against the odds against the daunting Rafael Nadal, reducing the Spanish prize-fighter to a hobbling shadow of his former self, we can do it too.
Believe.
More on the economy and the markets:
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