The New York Times: U.S. economists across a wide spectrum are forecasting continuing recovery in 2011. One exception is government economists who, having been burned by over-optimism in 2009 and 2010, are more sanguine than the concensus.Eighteen months after the recession officially ended, the government’s latest measures to bolster the economy have led many forecasters and policy makers to express new optimism that the recovery will gain substantial momentum in 2011.
Economists in universities and on Wall Street have raised their growth projections for next year. Retail sales, industrial production and factory orders are on the upswing, and new claims for unemployment benefits are trending downward.
While the economy in 2011 will not be strong enough to drive unemployment down significantly, it should put the United States on its soundest footing since the financial crisis started an economic tailspin three years ago. Read more…..
GEI will release its January economic forecast on Monday, December 27.