by Calculated Risk on 5/13/2009 01:32:00 PM

A few excerpts from Economists React: ‘Green Shoots Withering’ in Retail

We now have to expect flat consumption in April, which means there has been no net increase since January ... the freefall is over but shredded balance sheets and declining incomes mean a broadly flat trend is about the best we can expect. Greens shoots withering ...
Ian Shepherdson, High Frequency Economics

Overall, these data suggest consumers could not sustain the modest first quarter gains in spending and at least one “green shoot” appears to be wilting.
Nomura Global Economics

Some people mistook the end of "cliff diving" for "green shoots" and started predicting a "V-shaped" recovery. Although the worst of the declines is probably over, an immaculate recovery seems very unlikely. (See Immaculate Recovery? )