AUSTRALIA

Recession Appears Over: Australia has hobbled out of recession--at least in a technical sense--after 15 months of a costly downturn. But no one is predicting boom times just yet. The Statistics Bureau reported last week that gross domestic product rose 0.4% in the quarter ending in December after a fall of 0.1% the previous quarter and four quarters of negative growth before that. “The recession is over, and the economy has embarked on a moderate growth path,” said Rothschild Australia economist Tim Hughes. Treasurer John Dawkins and Prime Minister Paul Keating also said the national accounts figures show that the economy is on an upward trend. “I think we’re entitled to be confident that the economy is on the turn,” Keating said.