``We are at the beginning of the end and not the end of the beginning,'' Ackermann said this evening in Frankfurt at an event organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany. ``There are signs of stabilization and if no further shocks arise, we could get through the worst.'' ...Deutsche Bank doesn't expect a recession in the U.S., and the American real estate market may stabilize this year, Ackermann said.

Well, that's interesting, because a few weeks ago a leading investment bank's chief economist said this:

what is also
clear is that all around us economic activity is waning. Britain, Spain and Italy in particular
are faltering. There is no denying that most forecasters and business leaders
believe the US economy is already in recession...
As things currently stand, the downturn in the US looks set to spread soon from the
real estate market via the construction and financial sectors to consumer expenditure
and the labour market. Europe will be affected a bit later by the fragility of the US economy and the acute weakness of the US dollar... and the resulting damage will prove painful in 2009.

This economist has been pessimistic for some time - in January this year he said the crisis was "far from over" and the risk of a US recession was growing.

He's Norbert Walter, Deutsche Bank's chief economist.