With 2009 coming to a close, and possibly, the Great Recession, running its course, let's look into our crystal ball and see what's coming in 2010. It has to be better than 2009!
If we look at what 50 of the top economists are saying, 2010 looks like we might be able to breathe a sigh of relief. Let's start with GDP, or the measure of goods and services in the country. Good news here! We are seeing positive numbers, which means further economic recovery. Not a huge recovery, but the numbers are positive. We saw a huge contraction in the fall of 2008 and the first 2 quarters of 2009. In 2010 we should see a slow recovery but at least it's movement in the right direction.
Their predictions, by the way, are also showing some relief this quarter. We are not looking at a rosy Christmas season but one at least as good as last years. Maybe Santa has been checking his list and at least it's not shorter than last years! Our economic forecasters see some hope here!
The housing tax credit will probably be extended and there may even be some credits for household appliances in an effort to jump start a very weak economy. Preliminary results for the $8,000 tax credit show that it is helping home sales. The real estate industry is only beginning to show some life.
That's GDP. Next week we will look at interest rates and even look at this behemoth of a problem, the banking crisis.