Longest recession since WWII over by winter, economists say

...and it won't even take another world war. According to a survey of leading economists conducted by the National Association for Business Economics, the recession will end in the third quarter of 2009; that is, by the end of September. A minority, 19%, believe it won't end until December, and another 7% predict the economy will stop contracting in early 2010.

Already, this recession, which began in December 2007, is the longest since World War II picked the country out of its Great Depression doldrums, and has lasted this long because of the financial crisis which ushered it in.