L, U, or V?

Everyone is in consensus that at some point this downturn will end, and a recovery will begin.  But what kind of recovery will it be?  The pessimists maintain that we will bounce along at the current economic levels for quite some time, resembling the letter “L”, in fact with no meaningful recovery in sight.  Another school of thought points to a recovery late this year or in 2010, as in the letter “U”.  And optimists hope for a quick turnaround, or a “V”-shaped recovery.

This article from CNN Money says that some economists believe that a “V”-shaped recovery is likely.   The reason is that the current downturn has been so sharp, and production cut so drastically, the pent-up demand that is building up right now will lead to a strong rebound in economic activity.