Forecasting is a ‘fool’s game’, says one of the commentators in our cover story, as you’re more likely than not to be wrong. But still we persist. The mantra of the investment industry is ‘past performance is not  indicative of future results’. But still, we persist. As we have not yet figured out how to predict the future, the only yardstick available is the past. But what do you do when confronted by an amalgam of contradictory signals that have never been seen before? All recessions are unique, but this one may be the strangest yet.