January 2009 and it’s official. Recession is here. After the "are we, aren’t we" of the past six months, the bright side is that now any doubt has gone, it’s time to risk predicting the future so contingency plans can be made.

How long will it take us to get out of it and into what kind of world are we going to emerge on the other side of the recession? What will Obama bring to the table? What influence does he have on what happens in the US economy? What will kick start the economy? Will businesses increase their Asian focus? Will China and India be the saviour of the emerging markets? How will currencies play out in the next six to twelve months?