The deep global recession is winding down. Growth is firming overseas and helping to support a revival in our own exports. If the economy is going to grow more quickly, it’ll have to be by selling more to overseas customers.
—Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com

We are seeing signs of stabilization that we hope will set the foundation for an eventual recovery. Fiscal policy and monetary stimulus have been introduced around the world, and we are seeing signs, particularly in China, that they are beginning to work.
—Jim Owens, CEO of Caterpillar, 21 July 2009. And so it is…

Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in June suggests that economic activity is leveling out. Conditions in financial markets have improved further in recent weeks. Household spending has continued to show signs of stabilizing but remains constrained by ongoing job losses, sluggish income growth, lower housing wealth, and tight credit. Businesses are still cutting back on fixed investment and staffing but are making progress in bringing inventory stocks into better alignment with sales.
—FOMC, 12 August 2009