By Shailaja Nair on September 28, 2009 5:47 AM

Last weekend Singapore was in the spotlight, and not just because of the light-up of Little India heralding Deepavali or the Festival of Lights celebrated by Indians around the world -- including the island nation. Lights were shining on some of the world's most expensive and fastest cars as they raced around for the second Formula 1 Night Race.

As the Ferraris and Mercedes McLarens roared down the track, guzzling more gasoline than you and I will use in a year -- race cars consume 75 liters of gasoline for every 100 kilometers -- and people crowded the stands, the race could easily be seen as a sign of the economic recovery that was being talked about thousands of kilometers away in Pittsburgh at the G20 summit last week.

Even though corporate sponsors had cut back -- OCBC, one of Singapore's top banks, had booked a suite for 100 people at last year's Grand Prix but did not take part at all this year according to local media reports -- race promoter Singapore GP described the sales through general ticketing and corporate hospitality extremely good. And to ensure that fans return, it more than tripled its entertainment budget from last year's $1.2 million to $4 million this time around. But it is said that against 100,000 tickets offered last year, only 83,000 were offered for sale this year and even they are not sold out.

Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh as the G20 heads wined and dined at the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, they vowed to maintain economic support until a recovery is secured. The G20 group, which accounts for 90% of the world's economy including emerging economies such as China and India, agreed to revamp the global financial system, and toughen regulation of banks.

And on climate change, the leaders of G20 nations agreed that there was a need to make a greater push for a positive outcome at the Copenhagen meeting in December. This was small consolation for the enviormental groups that have been calling for drastic and concrete measures, but they can take heart from President Barack Obama urging the G20 countries to set a date to end government subsidies for fossil fuels that account for the bulk of the greenhouse gas emissions that is blamed for global warming.

However, the most important thing from the Pittsburgh meeting was the assurance that stimulus packages will not be withdrawn till the economy recovers.

But when will that economic recovery kick in? Some say it already has. Others talk of a V-, U- or W-shaped recovery. But tweaking poet John Keats' lines, economic recovery, like beauty, lies in the eyes of the beholder. Some see it in every cent's rise in the price of oil, the shining glitter of the price of gold, the recovering demand for steel, while others warn these are merely flashes in the pan. The reality lies much closer to the ground -- or water.

Look beyond the roar of the V-8 engines of race cars and in the Singapore waters can be seen a casualty of the global recession. Hundreds of tankers, bulk carriers and freight containers have dropped anchor here, all with no cargoes and no crews.

Referred to as the "ghost fleet of the recession" by the media, these ships should have been racing across the high seas carrying fuel or retail merchandise or petrochemicals. It is estimated that 12% of the world's freighters, tankers and bulk carriers are now sitting idle.

But with consumer confidence still low, though higher compared with last year, retail is still to pick up. And till that happens, this ghost fleet waits for that elusive economic recovery.

And so do the high street shops, the malls and nightclubs. In Singapore, shopkeepers and nightclub operators were keeping their fingers crossed that the F1 Night Race would help pull up their flagging fortunes.

But people are loath to open their wallets and spend lavishly. That spending is what the world is waiting for. And when it will happen is anybody's guess.

A survey commissioned by IBM recently showed that across all strata of society people have curtailed their spending in the wake of the recession. Analysts say that the consumer's mindset has changed. Consumers are more careful of what they buy, how much they spend. And the survey shows that the mindset is set to last even when the recession is over.

So in a classic case of the chicken and egg paradigm, the recession will begin to recede when people begin to spend and people will not open their wallets till they see the global economy recovering. Meanwhile, ships such as the 1,000-ft Maersk vessel Arwa, which had its maiden voyage in September last year, lie off the Singapore coast, leaking oil and polluting marine life.