Noticed a post by Paul Krugman on Big 5 crises and the United States that contain charts much like the one's Web Analysts often are asked to create.  It sorta reminds me that Web Analytics and Economics aren't really that far apart, it's just a different set of data - the insights and conclusions of top Economic Analysts and top Web Analysts, looking at sets of data - really come from a similar mind set.

Anyway, if you want to read more about this check out Big 5 crises and the U.S. - charts remind me of Web Analytics and if your really into reading the originally source for the economic predictions laid out in the charts, read a paper co-authored by Carmen Reinhart of the University of Maryland and Kenneth Rogoff of Harvard University, titled Is the 2007 U.S. Sub-Prime Financial Crisis So Different?.  

BTW, the conclusion of the paper says:

“..Given the severity of most crisis indicators in the run-up to its 2007 financial crisis, the United States should consider itself quite fortunate if its downturn ends up being a relatively short and mild one.”

 Sobering, isn't it?