There is a string of positives now stating Australia is tracking positively, starting with the international credit agency Standard & Poors which retains our economy’s AAA rating, The world’s top ten bankers (G.10) are now saying that while the slowdown for this year is inevitable, 2010 will see ’significant pick-up and should be the year of recovery.’ The excellent barometer of new home loan approvals for owner/occupiers is tracking well with current one percent increase over the same period last year.

Consumer sentiment continues to increase with the Melbourne Institute stats showing a recent lift of over 7 percent. This is being shown by the way big retailers like Harvey Norman and Woolworths continue to enjoy sales growth.

The view of the national Retail Traders Association is that business is reasonable right now and a strong recovery will be here by the third quarter.

This is the big question and right now most financial commentators are confident we could avoid a recession - which is defined by two quarters of negative Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth.

However, the respected Access Economics is quick to point to the difference between slightly in growth and slightly below is in reality only minimal, hence the popular expression ’soft landing.’

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its latest global economic statement insists the fundamental strengths in the Australian economy should see it the least affected of nearly all western economies. It also says the national government should be able to inject sufficient funds into infrastructure projects to boost the economy.

All financial eyes are on Canberra this week as the resumption of parliament will see the government announce its next major move to keep the economy strong. Federal cabinet has let nothing slip on whether it will be tax cuts or massive infrastructure spending.

The smartest financial brains and highest paid economists are now trying to pick exactly where our economy is going this year. Certainly last year’s slowdown was not as bad as many doom-sayers were predicting with mainly only the big ticket sales items being worst effected.

Many retailers even recorded an increase. But 2009 is here with a thump and the concensus of opinion is all previous bets are off as so much has changed in just a few months.