2012 MARKET FORECAST

摘要

At the end of 2010, many economic forecasters expected the U.S. economy to continue to grow into 2011, albeit at a moderately slower pace. The International Monetary Fund (Washington, D.C.), for example, predicted at this time last year that U.S. economic growth would slow from 2.6 percent in 2010 to 2.3 percent in 2011. As it turned out, the U.S. economy grew more than expected in 2010, increasing 3 percent for the year. The first three quarters of 2011 were another story, however, with growth well below expectations. According to the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis (Washington, D.C.), the U.S. economy expanded only 0.4 percent in the first quarter of 2011 and less than 2 percent in the second and third quarters. This lackluster and uneven growth, combined with stubbornly high unemployment rates, gave many the impression that the U.S. economy was barely treading water despite nine consecutive quarters of continued expansion.