Alphabet Soup

If there were ever a group of people who could not come to an agreement, it would have to be economists. It seems like economists are being quoted a lot lately as reporters and bloggers seek their "expert" opinions on whether or not our country is coming out of a recession and how strong or weak the recovery will be. While no "official" statement has been made that we are no longer in a recession, only 80% of economists believe this to be true. Mark Twain once said, "Get the facts first. You can distort them later." Most comments from economists these days seem to be focused on the economic recovery ahead. As expected, there is no shortage of opinions. Some see a V-shaped recovery, meaning a sharp increase in economic growth in the next year. Others see a W-shaped recovery, otherwise known as a "double-dip" recession. These people believe we could see another downturn before things get better. A third group believes we will see an L-shaped recovery, which is a long, drawn out process that will take many years. Of course, nobody knows for sure. Like the stock market, there are too many variables in play. So what's an investor to do? Keep saving, keep deferring money to your 401(k) plan, and pay down your debt. The world is not coming to an end...well, at least not until 2012!