I like optimism

From Anatole Kaletsky's Times article

If banks are stabilised with government support, and then gradually slimmed down, the non-financial economy should suffer only a modest slowdown. In America, by contrast, an outright recession would be avoided if financial stability could be quickly restored. The worst of the housing slump there appears to be over, consumer confidence is rising and a gradual economic recovery should soon be under way. In Britain, further big job losses and falls in house prices, especially in London, because of the economy's dependence on the financial sector are likely. The recession, however, could still be a fairly mild one, assuming that financial stability is quickly restored.