followed by a gradual increase in business activity.
I choose B because instead is not preferable on GMAT and insted is used with noun.
in the year and instead come in for a "soft landing,"
The reason that GAINS REFLECT is TO AVOID the recession.
The recession is SOMETHING that occurred EARLIER IN THE YEAR.
The intended meaning is just the opposite: that the economy will AVOID the recession.
Here, it lacks a clear referent.
Can you please advise that in OA FUTURE TENSE(will avoid) and PAST PERFECT(had feared) is acceptable?
Generally FUTURE TENSE will always go with PRESENT TENSE right?
This is not the case at all. You should not reject an option based on the preference of a word. There would be certain grammatical/meaning mistakes for sure if an option in incorrect.
Generally and I repeat again, generally rather than is preferred over instead of.
But try not to eliminate an answer choice based on this.