clipped from: www.smh.com.au   
The soothsayers at the Economic Cycle Research Institute in New York study an array of leading indicators to divine the next six, nine and 12 months. It has a good record. "We are now in a severe recession," said the centre's Anirvan Banerji.

"The leading indicators are showing no light at the end of this tunnel. In the last week of October they registered their worst readings in their six decades of history. It tells you the economy's not just down, it's plunging. There is no end in sight to this recession."