Three inter-related forces are beating on the economy: cyclical, secular, and presidential. Dispensing with economic jargon, the recession, longer-term trends, and Obama. Here are some guesses as to the shape of some of the industries that will emerge from the interplay of these forces.

The housing industry probably receives more attention that any other because of its key role in this recession. It is the collapse of the mortgage market; the subsequent decline in prices and rise in repossessions; the mounting number of unsold homes; the lay-offs in the construction industry, and the ripple effect on the sales of everything from fridges to lawnmowers that dominate news reports. But the industry will recover as a rising population and more reasonable pricing whittle down the unsold inventory. The 22,000 square foot house that sold in Aspen, Colorado recently for $43 million might not be a harbinger of things to come, but the pickup in sales and buyer traffic in several markets around the country certainly are.