Well here we go, 2012. The festivities of the holidays are over and soon it’s back to work. Here’s a final round-up of economic predictions for this year.
“Give me a one-handed economist! All my economists say, On the one hand on the other.” - Harry S. Truman
I’ve posted some gloomy predictions of the year ahead the past couple days (see Jim Rogers and Gerald Celente’s forecasts) but now, with the year actually here I’d like to post some forecasts from the mainstream establishment economists because the quote above is true, depending on variables, luck and chance there is often more than one possibility going forward.
Here they are, economic predictions from Top Economists…Economists make 2012 predictions.
- The economy will grow at a faster pace…depending on events and happenings in Europe. (It’s that two-handed thing.)
- Unemployment will remain relatively unchanged.
The economy remains vulnerable to outside shocks which may plunge us into recession.
All in all there’s not a lot of substance in these predictions, which makes sense seeing how the economists surveyed (“three dozen private, corporate and academic economists”) all represent the mainstream economic establishment.
As you would expect…
A majority (56 percent) of the economists say the economy will get a lift from Federal Reserve policies. The Fed has said it plans to keep short-term interest rates near zero through at least mid-2013 if the economy remains weak. The central bank also has begun a campaign to try to push down mortgage rates and other long-term interest rates through next June.
Good luck in the new year.
