Now It's Business That's Stoking the Boiler

摘要

By now,everyone knows that first-quarter economic growth is going to be a ripsnorter.Many analysts already have pushed up their forecasts north of 5%.But what's getting lost in all the attention to this quarter's growth surprise is mounting evidence that a central theme of most forecasts for 2006 is playing out right on schedule: Business is taking on a bigger role in driving overall growth.That means,despite the emerging housing slowdown,businesses are taking up some of the slack,as they shell out for new equipment and buildings,more inventories,and additional workers.