The Nation’s Economic Outlook

THE NATION’S ECONOMIC OUTLOOK By Jack Malehorn THE ECONOMY... JUST A SLIGHT CASE OF INDIGESTION Halfway through the year and according to many pundits, the economic expansion seemed as if it might have taken ill. Despite boatloads of good solid economic data, the call of alarm arose over the patient’s seemingly questionable condition. However, a lot like Mark Twain who reported at news of his passing “….the issue of my demise is greatly exaggerated.” The Consensus Outlook reports that the economic expansion is well having suffered just a slight hiccup due to a bit of untimely indigestion. The Consensus calls for annual growth in Gross Domestic Production — the bellwether of economic measures — to advance at a steady rate slightly over 3 percent for the rest of this year and well into next year. As with any patient’s condition, let’s spend some time with the diagnostics. So, if this was just a minor setback, what were the causes and what about the second half of the year? Undoubtedly, fears over inflation caused some nervous sensations. Fueled in part by the emphasis on oil, most analysts see the price per barrel of oil stabilizing around its current $50 a barrel ...