By Burton Frierson
Reuters
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. economy is recovering more strongly than expected from its worst recession in decades, but next year will be lackluster and risks of a double-dip downturn remain, economists said in a Reuters poll.
After shrinking by 1.0 percent in the second quarter on an annualized basis, U.S. gross domestic product will grow 2.4 percent in the current quarter and 2.2 percent in the final three months of the year, according to a sample of around 70 economists.
This would make the recession that many say ended in the second quarter the longest since World War Two.
The recovery is now expected to be more robust than economists predicted last month, when they saw growth of 0.8 and 1.8 percent in the third and fourth quarters, respectively. The broad U.S. stock market is up 50 percent from March lows.
High unemployment, which the poll showed topping out at 10 percent, and a massive debt load on the shoulders of consumers will hamstring the economy after the initial rebound.
Read more...
The opinions, views, thoughts, and ramblings of editors of PoliticalAffairs.net – and other stuff worth reading or viewing.
