A surge in commodity prices and exports, as well as reasonable government and household spending, are almost certain to keep Australia out of recession. Australia posted a 0.5 per cent economic contraction in the September quarter and if the December quarter data, out tomorrow, shows another fall in gross domestic product (GDP) it would put the nation into a so-called technical recession. The last time Australia had two consecutive quarters of economic contraction was the "recession we had to have", which ended in 1991. However, aside from the issue of whether such a narrow and rigid definition of a recession ... (full story)