>>Oil is now at a 7-week low, the dollar has jumped to a 1-month high vs. the Euro, consumer confidence is up, exports are up, the DOW appears to have bounced nicely off the technical and psychological 11k barrier...we're not out of the woods yet but if this is a recession, its the most shallow (read nonexistent) one I've ever heard of. Initial 2nd quarter GDP number is released on Thursday.
>>
>>Predictions?
>>Doomsday scenarios?
>>Optimism?
>
>I have no predictions to make about the GDP, but what number would qualify as bad?

Any further contraction would be bad both in terms of real-world numbers and the psychological impact. The first quarter grew at 1% so anything less would continue a downward trend. Obviously negative growth would be even worse.