Looks like the United States is going to drag the rest of the world into a global recession with the World Bank warning that the global economy is going to shrink for the first time since World War Two and trade set to record its largest decline in 80 years. And as expected, developing countries in Asia and Africa will be hit the hardest.

The crisis that started in the United States is now well and truly engulfing the rest of the world. And it's expected to last longer than previous recessions. As Associated Press reports, this recession will go on record as the longest in the post-war period. As post-war historian John Steele Gordon put it: ""I don't think many people think it will be 1932 again. Let us pray. But it's probably going to be the worst postwar recession, certainly."

Based on previous downturns and depressions, and based on the state of the global economy, we are in for at least three years of hard times. It might pick up a bit this year, with all the stimulus packages coming through but the fundamentals say the rebound won't last.