摘要
四周都是坏消息，而这条消息可能令人惊讶：美国经济有望到2009年年中的某个时间从萧条中走出。在此之前，经济将继续陷入几十年来最深也是最长的衰退之中。正如很多经济学家所预测的那样，如果这次经济衰退持续到春季以后，它将成为自大萧条后持续时间最长的经济危机。雇主期望继续快速裁减工作岗位。消费者将紧缩开支。各个公司企业将取消设备的购买。城市街区到处都是没有销售出的空房子。
It may come as a surprise, given all the bad news of late, but the U. S. economy is expected to emerge from the recession sometime around mid- 2009. Until that happens, the economy will remain mired in one of the deepest and longest downturns the nation has seen in decades. If the recession continues past the spring, as many economists predict, it will be the most prolonged one since the Great Depression. Employers are expected to continue to shed jobs at a rapid pace. Consumers will pull back spending. Businesses will cancel equipment purchases. Unsold, empty homes will dot city blocks.
