It all began with the collapse of the sub-prime housing market in America, and the rest, as they say, is now history. The 2008 and 2009 recession saw consumption fall for the first time in 20 years, and that slow-down in America spread to countries as far apart as the UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Canada, Japan, China, India and New Zealand. However, while some were officially in recession having experienced two consecutive quarters of negative growth, others such as India and China avoided it. Australia even managed positive growth. All year experts at Cambridge Judge Business School have been offering advice to those affected by the "slump".