Gotta be a little optimistic about this:
The recession-hit U.S. economy is proving weaker than economists expected just a month ago, but forecasters still think a recovery is in the cards for later this year, a survey released on Tuesday showed.
"Consumer spending and residential investment are expected to turn positive and begin boosting GDP growth in the third quarter of this year," the newsletter Blue Chip Economic Indicators said, summarizing its survey of private economists.
The consensus of the 51 forecasters surveyed looks for U.S. gross domestic product to tumble at a sharp 5.3 percent annual rate in the first quarter and to decline at a 2 percent pace in the second quarter.
In the third quarter, however, economists expect the economy to expand at a 0.5 percent rate, followed by a 1.8 percent fourth-quarter gain.
And I'm sure you've seen the Dow today, yes?
| Index Value: | |
|---|---|
| Trade Time: | 12:46pm ET |
| Change: |  306.33 (4.68%) |
| Prev Close: | 6,547.05 |
| Open: | 6,547.01 |
| Day's Range: | 6,546.61 – 6,880.70 |
| 52wk Range: | 6,440.08 – 13,191.50 |
U.S. stocks posted their best day in more than three months on Tuesday after Citigroup said it was profitable in the first two months of 2009.The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI jumped 379.44 points, or 5.80 percent, to end unofficially at 6,926.49. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX surged 43.07 points, or 6.37 percent, to 719.60. The Nasdaq Composite Index leaped 89.64 points, or 7.07 percent, to 1,358.28.