In double-dip territory?

There is ongoing debate as to whether the economies of both the U.S. and Europe have re-entered a recession, but the real question should be whether it ever got out of one! We unfortunately will not know for sure for at least a couple of years to come because of the tremendous adjustments lag between the initial data collecting and the final official figure. There are, however, strong clues that the recession that began soon after the sub-prime crisis erupted in 2007 is still around. The only reason why markets were rallying in 2009 and 2010 were because of the massive concerted government efforts to keep their respective economies afloat. A bull in a bear market if you will but, as the ammunition is being rapidly depleted, the effects of this are reverberated across the financial spectrum. Volatility is rising sharply, commodity prices are dropping and treasury yields, the ultimate safe haven investment (despite the downgrade), is at record lows. So from a technical standpoint, there is growing evidence to suggest that what we are experiencing is not a double-dip or "W" type of recession but more like a very extended "U" type. The rally in 2009 and 10 were just smokescreens and the markets are just discovering that now.