How the K-Shaped Recovery Went Pear-Shaped: John Authers

Oct. 17, 2025, 1:00 PM UTC

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In 2020, as the pandemic brought the global economy to a standstill, debate raged over the shape of the recovery to come. Sitting in front of their home computers, people argued in terms of letters. Would it be V-shaped, with a swift rebound, or more of a U? Was there a risk of the dreaded L, leaving the economy bumping along horizontally for years?

Then the Twitter personality Ivan the K (@IvantheK), an anonymous figure who describes himself as the “Lead Independent Director of Finance Twitter,” laid claim ...

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