The economic downturn, while very deep, could be mercifully short

The latest data is historically bad but the bounce back could be swift if the policy response is the right one, writes James Moore

With the mother of all recessions on the way, we need our scientists and politicians to make the right decisions (iStock)

I was left wondering where on earth Stenn, a trade finance provider, found so many wide-eyed optimists when its press release landed telling me that less than half the UK (46 per cent) and US (45 per cent) firms it polled predicted their countries would go into recession in 2020.

I’d be interested to see how the results would look after the latest set of Purchasing Managers Index data came out.

It showed that Covid-19 is hitting the UK economy with the force of a Mike Tyson haymaker, one of the ones he was capable of unleashing in his prime when he was arguably the most feared boxer the heavyweight division has ever seen.