Ian McCafferty, chief economic adviser, CBI

The document discusses the severe economic challenges faced by businesses during the global recession of early 2009, highlighting the synchronized downturn in world trade and the resulting slowest global growth since the 1980s. It details the impact of the credit crunch, policy responses such as bank bailouts and fiscal stimulus, and forecasts for modest recovery in 2010, indicating a fragile confidence among consumers and businesses. Emerging economies like China and India showed resilience compared to others due to their lower dependence on trade.