Are we entering a period of global recession or is it just an economic slowdown?

CNN: Have your say on the issues at Davos

So another period of economic weakness could be classified as a second recession, much as the 1981-1982 decline, which started in July 1981, only 12 months after the 1980 recession ended.

FORBES: The Chances Of A Double Dip

Government-bond markets are benefiting from the deteriorating economic outlook, which is leading some forecasters to predict both a recession and a brief period of deflation in 2009.

ECONOMIST: Buttonwood

Continuing weak economic growth has raised concerns of a triple-dip recession early this year, extending a recessionary period that began in 2008.

BBC: Business confidence 'hits new low', says survey

But here we are 46 months after the last recession started, and still no real economic recovery, with unemployment still over 9%, the longest period of unemployment that high since the Great Depression.

FORBES: The GOP Jobs Plan Vs. Obama's