So, there you have it. A tidy list of 10 things to consider in the months ahead. Of course, oil prices are down largely because of the falloff in global demand, but let's stay focused on the positive.

Kate O'Sullivan is a senior writer at CFO.

Resistance Movement
No matter what stage of life you're in, there's a recession-proof industry ready to serve you.

You know times are tough when CFOs in recession-proof industries shy away from that term and instead suggest that "recession-resistant" is more accurate. Robert Ryder, CFO of Constellation Brands, which produces and markets 250 brands of beer, wine, and spirits, admits that business is solid, but points out that consumers are now gravitating toward the company's lower-end products. "We're in a fortunate industry where when times are good we do pretty well and when times are bad we do just the same."

Child care is another area in which consumers tend not to cut back. Elizabeth Boland, CFO of Bright Horizons Family Solutions, which manages child-care centers at 700 companies, hospitals, and universities around the country, says business has remained strong even though the company does 15 percent of its business at corporate child-care centers located at financial-services firms. "Our clients have had a pretty long commitment to child care," Boland says.

Death would seem to be as recession-resistant an industry as one could imagine, and in fact Hillenbrand Inc., which sells burial caskets and cremation products, has seen sales remain flat through this recession just as they have through past ones. CFO Cindy Lucchese notes that, "our products are not something that you choose to buy; they're something that you need to buy." Whether they're something you want to buy may depend on how closely you've studied your most recent brokerage statements. — Kate Plourd

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