While we have seen some encouraging economic data over the last month or so, the vast majority of reports remain negative. The housing slump is getting worse, not better, with home prices plunging a record 19% in the 1Q. The home foreclosure rate skyrocketed 46% over year-ago levels in March. Meanwhile, millions of adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) are going to "reset" to higher monthly payments over the next couple of years. And finally, the default rate on commercial real estate loans and mortgages is rising rapidly. All of this reinforces my view that this recession will last all year or longer, and this is bad news for the credit markets and the stock markets. Don't be fooled by all the talk of "green shoots" in the economy. We are not out of the woods yet....