Even so, the optimists who spoke last year of a soft landing or a mild “V-shaped” eight-month recession were proven wrong, while those who argued that this would be a longer and more severe “U-shaped” 24-month recession – the US downturn is already in its 18th month – were correct. And the recent optimism that economies will bottom out by mid-year have been dashed by the most recent economic data.
然而，即使是这样，那些在去年提到经济会软着陆或者经济经过八个月的温和衰退就会“V型”反转的乐观主义者，也被证实是错误的，而那些认为经济危机会持续更长时间，而且是更严重的二十四个月的“U型”衰退的人——美国的衰退已经持续了18个月了——是正确的。而且，最近对经济会在今年年中见底回升的乐观预期，已经被最新的经济数据击碎了。