Conference Board Predicts Tepid U.S. Economic Recovery

(CBC News)

The U.S. economy will begin to grow again this year, but the pace of recovery is expected to be tepid, the Conference Board of Canada said in new report issued Wednesday. U.S. gross domestic product is projected to shrink by 2.5% in 2009, the research group said.

Pointing to modest signs of a rebound in the housing sector, along with the beginning of some stabilization in household spending, the Conference Board said real GDP is expected to grow by a slow 1.8% in 2010.

“Recent indicators suggest that the severe recession gripping the U.S. economy since late 2007 is slowly winding down,” said Kip Beckman, a principal research associate at the Conference Board. “Canada was in a better position going into the recession and will post a comparatively stronger rebound in 2010. But the deep hole that the U.S. economy dug for itself means that a full recovery from the current recession will take several years.” Read more here.