Over the past few months, two camps have emerged with regard to the outlook for the economy during 2005. To some extent, this partition can be explained by the recent run up in energy costs. Optimists believe the "soft patch" is clearly behind us and the economy is now accelerating. They point to solid GDP growth, an improving labor market, and strong consumer demand as indicators that the slowdown during the spring was merely a speed bump in an otherwise growing economy. Moreover, this camp expects the economy can withstand the adverse effects of rising energy costs and interest rates and believes future growth will.be above trend as we move through 2005.
展开▼
