Links Edition: Modes of Economic Recovery

The whole problem with this recession is that consumers are not spending.
I balk at that sentence. And yet, some reports put consumer spending at the center of the debate as to when this recession will end. In fact, I am already starting to see fallout from my lack of spending. My first residence, which I have not sold yet, is in an unincorporated part of the county. With sales tax receipts down 30% this last year the county has been forced to levy a new monthly tax so that they can continue providing adequate police protection. Is the budget based on sales tax the problem? Or because the budget spends every penny that it receives?

And while we are on the topic of recessions. Here are some other interesting reads from around the web.

• The Wall Street Journal published an article on Yahoo! Finance that took an in depth look at the recoveries of the last three recessions back in August. The experts are still out on what this recovery will look like and are still trying to determine 2009 was the start of one.

 

  

 

• Investopedia offers up the Top 6 Recession Investing Myths. Myth #3 states - "When the stock market rises, the recession is over." Hopefully, just by viewing the charts above you can see how that one is a myth.
• And one columnist believes we are heading into a 'dead cat bounce'.  He writes, "On January 19, 2010, the Dow stalled at 10,725 and headed down again. This is spooky. The 50% rule came true." What will the future bring? I am not sure, but it was interesting if you look at the technical indicators.

Where do you think we are headed this year? Are we going to tread water in the deep end? Or will we make it back onto dry ground finally this year? Share your views in the comments below.