Recession takes a detour

clipped from online.wsj.com A funny thing happened to the economy on its way to recession: It's taken a detour. That, at least, is the view of a growing number of economists -- including some who not long ago were saying a recession was all but inevitable. "A couple months ago it seemed like we were on the abyss," said Jay Bryson, global economist with Wachovia Corp. "Things have changed....The numbers we've seen recently haven't been as bad as we were led to believe just a few months ago." Wachovia now puts the odds of recession at 45%, down from 90% in April Mr. Bryson and other economists note that though two main pillars of the economy, the labor market and consumer spending, have faltered, they have not collapsed as they did in past recessions Job losses, meanwhile, have been less severe than they usually are in recessions Alan Greenspan the U.S. is in an "awfully pale recession." George Soros the "acute phase" of the crisis has now passed