James Mills is a web developer in the North East of England and founder of Refresh Teesside »
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Jez Davison, business writer at the Evening Gazette, is a regular blogger on all things business - particularly finance, entrepreneurship and the state of the Teesside economy » 
Karen McLauchlan is the Evening Gazette's deputy business and features editor - with special interest in all things industry, property and arts related » 
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Deloitte, which has 23 offices across the UK including Newcastle, is among the country's leading professional services firms » 
ClimateNE & Climate Change Schools Project support the move to a low-carbon, resilient economy and help businesses avoid risk and realise commercial opportunities. Posts by Jen Atkinson, Krista McKinzey and Harriet Thew » House prices will fall by a further 15%, unemployment will spiral to more than two million, the FTSE will plunge below 3,500 and business failures will reach record levels.
Or... shares will rally sharply, banks and commercial property will spark a sustained economic fightback and cheap bargains will send consumers flooding back to the high street.
If the market has bottomed out, the latter view could hold some credence and recovery, not recession, will be the "r" word on everybody's lips.
But if the slide continues, 2009 could bear the most painful scars of this year's financial crash.
Anthony Bolton, one of the City's best-known stockpickers and fund managers, is firmly entrenched in the optimistic camp, reportedly claiming that commercial property could kick-start a sustained bull run.
He also says, according to the recent report in The Sunday Times, that banks are a good investment opportunity and will return to growth.
Before anyone questions his sanity, Mr Bolton apparently delivered average annual returns of around 20% during his time as manager of Fidelity's Special Situations fund, compared with 7.7% from the FTSE All-Share index.
But his view does seem wildly optimistic, even if we accept his view that the markets tend to bottom out 6-12 months before the economy.
With a few exceptions, battening down the hatches rather than growth is the overriding mindset for local business as annus horribilis gives way to something potentially even more painful.
But with large-scale infrastructure projects in the pipeline, a skilled manufacturing base and a diverse knowledge economy, Tees Valley should fare slightly better than other parts of the UK.
With the so-called experts struggling to reach consensus on what will happen next year, I will offer the following (provisional) predictions:
- The economy will contract further during the first two quarters, level out in the third and (just) reach positive territory in the fourth.
- Consumer confidence and spending power will return in time for next Christmas.
- House prices will continue to fall by a further 5-10% before rebounding in 2010.
- Access to credit from major banks will be a lingering problem for business - and local council-run banks could be the answer.
- Defensive stocks and green technologies will be a safe bet. Investment in undervalued land and property is not for the risk-averse but could bring lucrative longer-term gains.
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