Here is some very good news on the economy.
Real gross domestic product — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States — increased at an annual rate of 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009,
(that is, from the third quarter to the fourth quarter), according to the “advance” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the third quarter, real GDP increased 2.2 percent.
I think this means that the recession is officially over because we now have had two straight quarters with economic growth. Of course, there are other considerations that factor into the definition of a recession, but 5.7% is a big number. With any luck, the unemployment numbers will start going down shortly.