You know the economy is in a bad way when a dramatic plunge in a company’s profits is described as better than expected.

Nokia’s announcement that its profits have fallen by 90% was greeted – quite unbelievably – with a sense of relief by market analysts and resulted in the company’s share price rising by eight percent.

This is a true sign of the times. Just a year ago if Nokia, the world’s largest mobile phone company, had made the same announcement, share prices would have nosedived and the business world would have reacted with shock. As it is, as Gartner analyst Caroline Milanesi told the BBC, “Basically, the story to take away is that it’s still been a very challenging quarter, but at least things didn’t get any worse, and I think that’s a good story.”

That this is regarded as a good story shows the depths the economy has plunged to.  The situation can only get better however, and if the reaction to Nokia’s announcement is anything to go by, any company that announces its profits have actually risen should see a meteoric rise in share prices prompting much needed economic recovery.