Toward the Next Phase in the Expansion

While short-term indicators indicate the economy is rebounding from the recession, the door cannot be closed yet. The recovery in the cyclical indicators partly still reflects pent-up demand from the rapid adjustments that businesses made to employment, investment, and inventories. This issue of StraightTalk® discusses additional strengthening headwinds, notably the accumulated deficits and debt that add to medium-term concerns. The recent upheavals in Europe are only one more sign of the fragility of a sustainable growth path ahead. Faster growth helps to ease the problems, especially when driven by more productive investments in technology and innovation-intensive production and intangible capital.