Is the "Great Recession" Finally Coming to an End?

Three of the world's largest economies (Japan, Germany and France) have seen a return to positive growth over the past couple of months, leading many to believe that the "Great Recession" will soon be fading from view in the rear-view mirror.

Japan announced earlier today that their economy had grown 3.7% on an annualized basis from April to June of 2009. This is the first time that the Japanese economy has experienced any growth in well over a year.

Germany and France surprised many last week when they announced that their economies had actually grown (slightly) during the second quarter of 2009. This led many to believe that the two countries would help to pull the entire Eurozone out of recession.

There is no set definition for a "recession", but many people tend to agree that it occurs when you have two straight quarters of negative economic growth.

So, by that definition, the recession has technically ended in Japan, Germany and France.

This recent news from Japan, Germany and France comes just a few weeks after the Bank of Canada declared an end to their recession.

Given these recent developments, is it safe to say that the recession in the United States is either:

a) over
b) about to come to an end?

Many economists believe that the recession recently ended in the United States, while a number of others believe that it will end shortly.

While the "Great Recession" has technically come to an end for a number of the world's largest economies, there are still a number of issues going forward.

To start - an incredible amount of stimulus has been injected into the system by the world's leading economies. Will they still be able to enjoy economic growth, say, a year from now?

Second - jobless rates remain incredibly high in many countries throughout the world. These rates will almost certainly begin to drop in the coming months, but by how much?

Third - how will some of the world's largest economies (United States, Japan, UK) deal with their inflated debt loads?

While the "Great Recession" may technically be coming to an end, there are still a number of potential pitfalls for the global economy.

Source: AP - Japan's Economy Rebounds in Q2 on Export Growth

Filed under: The Economic Meltdown