Are We in a Recession?

We definitely were, probably still in one but there is no need to wait for lagging indicators here.

You can run all you like but the problem is, you just can't hide. Best you can do is prepare months in advance like the smart people did. [0]

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29508238

Companies are halting investments, people are being laid-off, people's debt is increasing, inflation is high than ever...

What more do they need to accept we are in a recession?

We are if you accept the classical definition of a recession.