Recovery Hopes Move To 2004

摘要

It is becoming increasing increasingly obvious that the U.S. economy will not perform any better in 2003 than it did in 2002. For manufacturing executives and everyone else that means inflation-adjusted GDP will grow just 2.5% this year, profits will be flat, the stock market won't improve, payroll employment won't increase and the overall U.S. unemployment rate will rise. Although interest rates will remain near their current low levels, real recovery for the U.S. economy won't come until 2004. By then, three factors―currency exchange rates, higher capital spending and inventory building―will be combining to boost real growth to about 4%.