Recession Will End This Year

Economists, builders, mortgage analysts fear 'lost decade'

(NEWSER) - Even more bad economic news from a report released today: Housing prices will remain depressed for years, dropping by an expected 2.5% this year and rising only 1.1% each year through 2015, according to the survey of more than 100 economists. Since the 2005 peak, housing prices have dropped 31.6%, so if this forecast plays out, prices will recover little of what has been lost—leading to what the Wall Street Journal calls a “lost decade.” In order to get the housing market back on its feet, the economy needs to add jobs, but that’s a difficult prospect when the economy, in turn, needs a job boost housing would typically provide. More»

That's the highest level in nearly 15 years

(NEWSER) - With unemployment levels high and the US on the brink of default , is it any surprise that American pessimism has reached a 15-year high? A new CNN poll cited by Politico finds that 59% expect the economy to be in bad shape a year from now, the highest percentage since CNN started asking that question in 1997. Of those surveyed, 40% expect the economy to be in good shape a year from now, but only 4% of those believe it will be in "very" good shape. More»

Blame our culture of entitlement, victimhood, and greed

(NEWSER) - These days, America seems defined by a near-ubiquitous “simmering resentment, frustration, and anger,” writes Charles Hugh Smith on his Of Two Minds blog. Why is that? Smith blames:

• A culture of entitlement: From Social Security recipients to Wall Street welfare queens, “most of us have to elbow our way to the crowded public trough” for government cash.
• A culture of victimhood: We reward victimhood, and punish thrift and carrying one’s own load. And so we all feel inclined to get our claim on victimhood.

The economy should be Obama's top priority: Henninger

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama makes health care sound like the most pressing issue in American life, but with unemployment at 10% and the country still officially in recession, Daniel Henninger wonders why he's "draining a dwindling reservoir of presidential capital." The cost of health care may be a problem for many, but government's job of fixing wrecked markets is not nearly over—and voters agree, with 87% dissatisfied with the economy. For the Wall Street Journal columnist, "even more so now than way back in 1992: It's still the economy, stupid." More»

(NEWSER) - Our long national nightmare could soon be over: Top economic forecasters expect the recession to end by the second half of this year, Reuters reports. In a new survey, experts predict the GDP will shrink by 2.8% this year but edge up 1.9% in 2010. Even so, economists add that the unemployment rate could peak at 10% early next year. More»